


True Memories

by animefan021513



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Action, Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Blizzard of '68, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Childhood Memories, Epic Friendship, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Family Issues, Family Secrets, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Gen, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Identity Reveal, Jack Feels, Jack Needs a Hug, Jack being Jack, Magic, Magic Revealed, Memories, Memory Loss, Memory Magic, POV Jack Frost (Guardians of Childhood), Protective E. Aster Bunnymund, Protective Sanderson Mansnoozie, Repressed Memories, The Author Regrets Nothing, Truth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-04-11
Packaged: 2020-01-11 23:01:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 79,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18433901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animefan021513/pseuds/animefan021513
Summary: After the battle with Pitch the Guardians are back at the North Pole, and they tell Jack that he isn't done with his initiation yet. No, he, along with the others are going to take a trip down memory lane through Jack's memories all the way from when he was born...but what if what he saw in the memory box the first time...was only half of a truth? What was Jack like as a child? How much of a role does Pitch play in his childhood? How is it that Jack can already communicate with the wind just after being born? What happened to lead Pitch to want to destroy the Guardians? What has Jack had to face as a spirit? How did he and and Mother Nature meet? What kind of connection do they have? How will the Guardians react to it all? How will Bunny react to what REALLY happened in the blizzard of '68? Read and Find out! :)





	1. Chapter 1

The battle with Pitch had just ended, and we just made it back to the North Pole. Bunny surprisingly hadn't complained about the sleigh ride this time. Instead, he was telling me what a great job I did, which, coming from the Easter Kangaroo, feels a bit weird, but after three hundred years, I'm not about to complain. As I started to walk away from the sleigh and to the door, I felt one of the reign deer nudge me. I turned around and it was Comet. "I'm alright, girl." I told her as I petted her nose and she snorted air into my face. I couldn't help the giggle that came out of my mouth, which seemed to get the attention of the other Guardians, because when I turned to look at the door, they were looking at me, slacked jawed. "What?"

"Mate...those reign deer haven't liked anyone but North...in a very very long time." I heard Bunny explain, and honestly, it confused me a bit. I may have been alone for three hundred years, but the animals usually treated me just fine. No matter who they belonged to or where they lived.

"Oh...well, we've gotten along fine the past couple of centuries. Haven't we, Comet?" I asked her and she nudged the side of my face before nudging my shoulder. "Alright, alright, I'm going." I chuckled out as I walked over to the others. They were still staring at me. "Okay, seriously, what's the issue with the reign deer liking me? You're all kind of freaking me out a bit."

"Is like what Bunny says..." North started, but it didn't help clarify anything for me. "...There was a battle with Pitch before this one, and we were victorious for a long time, but after...the reign deer got anxious around others except for us, and a few children from old village I used to live in. When the children were gone, they became wary of everyone but me. We don't know why, but it is what happened. It is just surprising that after all that time, reign deer would treat you affectionately. Is no matter, soon we will find out how that happened."

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly not liking where the conversation was starting to go.

"Well, you see...it's like this, sweet tooth...we were made Guardians because of Manny...but for a long time, even though we considered each other friends, I personally thought that we didn't know everything we needed to know about each other. I didn't like the subtle signs of secrets being kept, so I talked with Manny, North, Bunny, and Sandy...and they agreed that it was a good idea. The idea is...we're going to look through your memories. You already have your memory box, but the only down side to this...we will see all of the bad moments as well. Not just the good. We will also be able to hear your thoughts as clearly as if you were speaking them once you've been made a spirit. It helps build trust and understanding. Somewhere within the memories, Manny will announce an advantage in the memories. Something you couldn't have known or been able to experience before. There is also one more thing..."

"What is it?" I asked cautiously as my brow furrowed, disliking the conversation even more.

"If Pitch had any involvement in your life, we'll see that as well."

"Wait, you mean...how would you not have known if he was involved in my life? For one, you're the Guardians, and for two...you're the Tooth Fairy...Guardian of Memories."

"I Guard  _happy_  memories, Jack. I also made it to where the teeth never have a chance of showing Pitch in them. Just as a precaution."

"Then, why would they now?" I asked as we started to make our way inside and towards the elevator.

"Because, it will be placed into a special slot that Manny helped me and North design." I nodded my head, slightly understanding a bit more, but now I knew one thing for certain. I definitely wasn't going to like going down memory lane with them. I had only seen my good memories, and one of them included my death. I can't really see that as a happy memory, but I don't see that I have a choice in the matter.

Once we got to the Guardian symbol on the floor, I watched as Manny's moon beams shined onto a small almost unnoticeable circle on the floor. As it lifted out of the floor, I noticed there was a place that would perfectly fit the tooth box. "Do I have to?" I asked, trying to find a way out.

"Yes." North said. "It will also show memories from  _when_  you became a spirit."

I let out a sigh as I shook my head, and hesitantly reached into my pocket. I pulled out the tooth box and handed it to Tooth. "This isn't going to be a fun ride. I can tell."

"No, it won't be." Bunny confirmed. "It will be as if you're actually there, and trust me...for me...that was like hell on earth, but ya got us, and we'll be here with ya for the whole ride. When ya want the memory to stop just say 'stop'. when you're ready to continue say 'continue' while focusing on it resumin' and it will."

"Alright...where are we starting." I sighed out as Tooth slide the box into the slot.

"Where everyone starts with their memories...we will start on the day you were born." Tooth pressed the top of the device and it sunk back into he floor. Suddenly, we found ourselves in the village I saw in my memories when I looked into the tooth box and where Burgess is now. Bunny was right. It was like being there. It was so real, I could smell the air, feel the wind against my skin coming from a window, and even the wooden floor boards beneath my feet.

 _"Would you like to see your son, Laura?"_ A voice was heard, so we walked through the wall and saw a midwife holding a bundle wrapped in clean linen, and on the bed there was a woman who was breathing heavily.

 _"Let me see him."_ She said simply, but for some reason there wasn't even the tiniest amount of Joy in her voice.

 _"Here..."_ The midwife said sadly, and I looked at the others and they were equally confused.

The woman took the bundle and when a cry came from the bundle, the wind from outside came bursting through, knocking things over, and the room dropped a few degrees.  _"Take him!"_ She shouted. _"It's just like when I was six months pregnant...he is evil! With every kick I would get cold and the wind would pick up! Take him! He's an abomination...a devil child!"_

 _"Laura..."_ The infant cried more and the room got even colder.

 _"He'll freeze the whole village if he...if he..."_ The woman started looking more and more tired. _"...You said that I...would likely not...survive...child birth...get rid of him...make sure he is somewhere no one will find him."_

 _"That's cruel!"_ The midwife shouted.

_"Do you want the whole village to freeze!?"_

_"N-No...but..."_

_"Then get...rid of him. If he...is destined to...live...someone...will find...him. I will...not...raise...a devil...ch...ild..."_ The woman's eyes closed and she laid limp in the bed.

"STOP!" I shouted and started breathing hard. My chest hurt and the tears burned my eyes as I looked to Bunny, and for some reason I instantly wrapped my arms around him, clutching his fur, and embarrassingly started sobbing into his chest.

"There, There, Jacky..." Bunny told me in a surprisingly comforting way as he wrapped one arm around my back while held one of his paws on the back of my head.

At his words and how he was being so comforting, I only cried more as I spoke. "I...I wasn't...wanted...! I...didn't...do anything! I...was...just...born! She...didn't...even...name me! She...she called me a devil child!"

"You're wanted now, Jacky. I've said a lot of bad things to ya...and I regret them now more than ever...but we're here for ya. We look after one another. You're part of the family now, mate." I looked up at Bunny, my chin resting in the scruff of his fur on his chest, and he smiled down at me. I couldn't even say anything, because I could tell he meant it. So, I just buried my face back into his chest, and continued to childishly cry into Bunny's fur. "That's it, Jacky...ya just let us know when you're done." I calmed my crying as much as I could until I was doing nothing more than sniffling. I nodded my head, and he let me go. "Ya alright, mate?"

I wiped my tears as I stepped back away from him. "Yeah...it's just...it's already off to a bad start...and it makes me wonder...I had a family when I looked into my memory box. A mother who looked like me, and a sister that did too! I don't know how I got there if it wasn't here."

"We'll figure that out, alright?"

I nodded my head. "Thank's Bunny...why did you let me do that anyway?" I asked curiously, because up until yesterday, if the Easter Bunny had a naughty list or a go to hell list, I was on it.

"You've no idea what watching my past did to me. My past...it started off great...but then...Pitch happened. He wiped out my entire family and all of my people. I had to relive that Jack. I had to relive it, and I could do nothing to warn them, to stop it from happening..."

I nodded and gave him another hug, feeling like he needed one. "It's alright, Bun-Bun. You got me now too."

I could've sworn I heard Bunny choke on a sob or a cry, but I wasn't looking so I couldn't say for sure what it was. "Bah!" He laughed out. "We're just a couple of saps, ain't we, Frostbite?"

I smiled and turned to face the dead woman on the bed, and nodded my head. "Continue." I told it, wanting to see the rest of the memories, and almost immediately it continued as the midwife covered the woman on the bed with the blanket, and walked out the door with me.

_"I'll protect you little one."_

"STOP!" I shouted in confusion and shock.

"Mate, who was that? It wasn't the woman holdin' ya."

"That...that's Wind! The wind...she...I always call her Wind or Wendy...but..."

"Well...maybe it has something to do with the fact you were born with powers." North mentioned, and at that my eyes went wide in realization.

"I...I was born with powers, wasn't I? That's what that was."

"Seems so, Jacky." Bunny told me with a sympathetic smile.

"A-Alright...Continue." The woman continued away from the house and into the forest. It was the middle of winter, and there was no real way to know the date. All I knew was that I was fourteen when I died.

As she continued to walk in the forest, she came across a bed with a mattress on top of it.  _"A bed...in the middle of the forest?"_  She questioned as she looked down at me in her arms.  _"I really don't want to do this...but that woman...she's the head of the village...her husband...is a horrible man. You would've been better off without them anyway..."_  There was a single tear that fell down her eye as she set the infant down on the bed, but then it dawned on me. I know that bed.

"STOP!" I shouted and raked my hands through my hair.

"Mate, you keep stopping, we're gonna be here for a while."

"I know...but don't you see! Does anyone else know where we've seen a bed in the middle of the forest before!?"

Everyone's eyes were on me and then on the bed I was just set down on. "She has no idea..." North stated in shock. "...but wait...this does not make sense...how did you live?"

"I have no clue, but we're going to find out!" I told them with wide eyes. "Continue."

Right after she set me down on the bed, she ran away, leaving me alone in the darkness of the moonless night.  _"Oh, sweet one...I will protect you..."_  Wendy called to my infant self as she gently blew at my oak brown hair, and it seemed as if the air itself became comforting and warm.  _"Mother Nature won't be happy about this...but I will look after you as much as I can. I cannot do what other mothers do. I cannot physically feed you or clothe you, but I can promise I will hold you in ways that only I can, and I will keep you warm. Even though I haven't had a physical form for over a billion years, in my own ways, I will try to look after you as if you were my own. I just hope someone finds you soon...so they can feed you."_

About ten minutes after Wind had promised that, we all saw a shadow come out from under the bed. It was Pitch, and he looked down at me with a confused expression.  _"A baby? Who leaves a baby in the middle of a forest...and on Christmas Eve no less."_  Pitch reached down towards me, but was quickly knocked over by Wendy.  _"What in the...!?"_

_"Do not touch him Pitch Black! Mother has told me of what you have done to innocents!"_

_"That was when the fears and nightmares controlled ME! Now I control THEM!"_

"STOP!" I called out and looked immediately to Bunny. "Pitch can speak with Wendy?"

"Yeah, he can speak with and hear nature. It's one of the ways he's able to slink around. However, he can't affect any of it. He can't use it or force it to do anything, so all he can really do is carry on a conversation." Bunny told me as if it wasn't just the most ridiculous thing anyone's heard.

"This is getting too weird." I shook my head and faced the memory again. "Continue."

The wind circled around Pitch, almost analyzing him.  _"Mother Nature says you are her biological father..."_ Pitch gave a quick yet unsure nod. _"Well then...I have a request...but first I will tell you why this infant is on a bed above your lair. His birth mother gave birth to him not more than two hours ago, and he has powers. He can summon and speak with me, although, he doesn't know that yet, and he can make it colder. The woman called him a devil child and ordered that he be taken away, not caring where or how. The midwife did as she was asked, albeit reluctantly, and she placed him here saying that he would've been better off without them."_

 _"What are you getting at?"_  Pitch asked as he continued to look down at me on the bed.

My eyes opened and I looked up at him. When I saw him, a smile quickly grew on my face and I took a hand out of the blanket to reach out for him. The look on his face was strange to see on him, and the other's thought so as well, if their gasps were anything to go by. He looked down at me fondly and and held his finger out to my hand, and I grabbed it. Not very well, but my fingers were hooked on his. However, as soon as I did that, the colors in his eyes changed to silver almost immediately. There were tiny flecks and flickers of gold as if something was trying to break through, but the longer I held onto him, the more the gold dissipated.  _"Take care of him. Feed him, clothe him, treat him as your own, and I will do the same on my end. I will be like a mother to him by keeping him warm and holding him when others cannot, but if you do not take care of him and raise him...I'm afraid he will perish."_

_"You are the wind itself...making you one of my daughter's beings. That would make you like a granddaughter to me...yet you want me to basically be his father...and you the mother? Seems a bit wrong to me."_

_"Perhaps...but I'm already disobeying Mother quite a bit by talking to you...so I may not belong to her anymore...besides...when he summoned me with his first cry...I felt as if my connection with her broke somehow...so perhaps I cannot call her Mother anymore...but merely Mother Nature."_

_"Why do you care for the child so much?"_  Pitch asked as he continued to look at me with a soft smile, which was still a bit unsettling from where I stood.

_"He called to me...and I felt him. I instantly knew him as well as I know myself with his first cry. He will be a good and kind child. Mischievous...very Mischievous, but he will be kind, caring, generous, patient, understanding, and filled with laughter. It was very strange...knowing him in such a way...but I do. If you are as in control as you claim...then you should have enough control to use your shadows to give him food and clothing, and I have circled around in your lair before. I know you have a room that was dedicated to Mother Nature...though I know not why, but it is there none the less."_

_"After I gained full control...after the Guardians defeated me...I gained my sanity, and I wept for years I don't know why I'm telling you this...perhaps it's the infant...but I thought if I made the nursery she was in...then I would feel less guilt about being tricked into opening the gate I swore to keep closed...but it only fueled the guilt. I have never gone back in there since."_

_"The room hasn't gained a single spec of dust, and currently, you're the only one who has experience with that sort of thing...and he will not be welcomed back into the village as he is now. They will know that he was the woman's child, and if the midwife should speak of it or if the father should ask of it...he won't be received well, and from how the midwife spoke...the father may not show him any mercy."_

_"You are aware that I cannot purchase food or clothing, aren't you?"_

_"Yes, I also know that you have multiple secret farms and gardens all over the world that are hidden from man."_

_"How do you know that?"_  He asked as he then furrowed his brows in confusion.

_"I was curious as to who Mother Nature was speaking about so I let myself in."_

_"That makes sense."_

_"Pitch...will you take care of the child? It's not like you have anything better to do with your time, and your powers are weak. You are only limited to the shadows now. I can tell the fearlings and nightmares would still be under your control if you could...but for some reason it's like they lay dormant beneath your soul."_

Pitch then let out a heavy sigh as he nodded his head. "I will take care of this child." He gently lifted me up from the bed and looked at me with another fond smile. He cradled me in his arms, and I seemed to fall asleep almost instantly.  _"He'll need a name."_

_"Well...he'll be like a son to you, but it would be bad if he is seen and says his last name is Pitchiner..."_

_"Yes it would be..."_  Pitch agreed as he used the blanket I was swaddled in to cover my face up a bit.

_"Well, what would you have named Mother Nature if she had been a boy?"_

Pitch smiled down at my sleeping form and nodded his head.  _"Jackson Overland."_

_"That's a great name! Now...what about a last name...?"_

Pitch chuckled lightly.  _"You said he can make it colder?"_

_"Yes..."_

_"Frost should do nicely."_ He chuckled out in a warm manner, and my eyes went wide in disbelief.

"Stop..." I said simply and so it did. I looked to the ground in disbelief.

"Jack?" I heard Tooth question with the same amount of disbelief.

"Just...just give me a moment." I told them as I continued to look at the ground beneath my feet. I couldn't believe that he named me. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want to acknowledge it, because a human woman who actually gave birth to me...didn't even take the time to name me or even look at me with so much as a smile, but Pitch was looking at me with the same look I've seen on proud and loving fathers all over the world when they were holding their babies.

"Names are important things in spirit world...which is where we reside...and only children who believe can see...unless they are gifted like you are here and..." North mentioned. "...Pitch gave you a name...and he lives within the spirit world. Same rules apply. Your name carries more weight than previously thought, but it was given with heart. I can tell just by looking at Pitch's face when he sees you here. It is very strange...yes...but it is start of your journey and I have a feeling in my belly that your past somehow connects to the most recent battle."

"Is your belly ever wrong?" I asked with genuine curiosity, as I remember him telling me he felt it in his belly that I would discover who I was.

"No. It has never been wrong. Not once." He told me proudly.

I nodded my head and looked at the memory. "Continue."

_"That's an excellent last name!"_

_"Thank you." He looked down to me as he carefully cradled me in his arms, and he smiled gently at me. "I will look after you as if you were my own son."_

_"Will you have him call you father?"_

_"No..."_  Pitch told Wendy with a saddened expression.  _"...I lost the right to such things when I opened the black gate, but I will still make sure he is cared for."_

 _"And loved?"_  Wendy asked with concern, and I had to admit, I was growing more curious about the past I didn't know about.

 _"And loved."_  He answered.  _"Besides...when he held my hand...something in my cold, dead, and blackened heart...somehow became warm, alive, and almost pure...almost. It will be a win-win situation for us both, I think."_

_"I'm glad to hear it! Thank you, Pitch Black."_

_"Yes well...I trust you won't mention this to anyone."_

_"Like I said...I felt something strange happen with my connection to Mother Nature. She'll likely choose a new wind spirit to replace me soon. She's had connections sever before, so it doesn't really bother her that much. After it's gone, she starts looking for the next candidate as soon as possible."_

_"Very well. First things first, he hasn't been fed."_  I watched as Pitch carefully laid me back down on the bed, and vanished into the shadows.

He was gone for about three hours, and in the time, Wendy continued to comfort me and keep me warm. She would move my blanket back into place when need be, and to my surprise, despite how loud I had cried...no one came. Then, Pitch returned with nothing.  _"I thought you went to go get him food!"_  Wendy shouted in aggravation.

 _"I did. I also took it upon myself to stock the lair with food and formula for him. I also have gotten everything ready in his soon to be room. That's why it took so long. Now..."_  He lifted me up carefully and bounced me lightly in his arms.  _"...he needs to be fed. It is well past feeding time."_

_"You'll be good to him. I know it."_

_"Yes, well...you said you would be helping, and you are tied to the boy now."_

The scene immediately shifted, and suddenly we were in a nursery room, and to all our surprise, it was beautiful too. It was lit up with gorgeous candles I had only seen in castle halls, the walls themselves were painted gold with silver swirls and stars, the floor was seemingly made of marble. There was a book shelf filled with books in the corner of the room, and next to that was a rocking horse and some hand carved and hand painted baby toys. There was a changing table that seemed to already be stocked like he said, but in the corner of the room where it was the brightest due to the positioning of the candles. Then, we all noticed that in the brightest area of the room, there stood a hand carved cot with stars carved into the wood, and in it was a plain white sheet accompanied by a blanket made of wool that was dyed grey. Next to the cot Pitch was sitting, and holding me while he fed me.  _"I'm going to be honest...I didn't think you would be this good with him. I knew you would be good to him, but not this good and considering this is his first feeding, he's doing remarkably well as well."_

 _"I HAVE done this before, you know. I honestly enjoyed looking after my daughter when she was small. I found it pleasant. Even the tantrums and sleepless nights...my wife loved her, but she couldn't understand how I found joy in taking care of Emily when she was having a tantrum or when she would wake up in the middle of the night screaming. Honestly...to this day...I don't understand it myself, but it gave me a pleasant feeling. Right now...this is a peace I hadn't known in a long time, and I feel joyful for the first time in a very long time."_  Then Pitch looked up from me and furrowed his brows just before shaking his head.  _"Again! I don't know why I'm telling you any of this!"_

_"You have someone to talk to now. Someone who will be here listening. That's why."_

_"I suppose so."_  Pitch sighed. Once he was done feeding me and burping me he carefully stood up and laid me down into the cot, looked at his hand, and then turned his gaze to a medium sized box at the very top of the book shelf. Then, he looked back at me and let out a heavy sigh.  _"Wind..."_

_"You can call me Wendy. It was my name when I was human..."_

_"Very well...Wendy...have you ever been able to lift the Sandman's dream sand?"_

_"I have. When my siblings would get into fights and Sandy would still give children good dreams through the storms, I would help guide his dream sand. He doesn't know that, but that's okay."_

_"Good..."_  Pitch said as he walked over to where the box was, took the it down, placed it on the desk, and opened it. What was inside had all of us gaping in shock. It was Sandy's dream sand. _"I had collected this in hopes of being able to use it, but I haven't figured it out yet...I tried to use it on myself, but I can't. Every time I touched it, it would turn black and lose all it's powers. So, what I'm asking is..."_

 _"Yes, I would be glad to."_  Wendy told him as she lifted a small amount of sand out of the box and sprinkled some over my eyes.

I fell asleep and nothing appeared over my head, but I was sound asleep.  _"Why does nothing appear?"_

_"He is not quite at the age for something to appear. He should be able to have something appear within a month. At least...from what I've seen anyway."_

_"Hmm...well, we will have to wait and see, won't we?"_  He looked down at me sleeping and a soft smile appeared over his face.  _"Sweet Dreams, Jack."_

_"I thought you named him Jackson."_

_"It's a shortened version of his name. Emily's first full name is Amelia, but no one knows that besides the two of us...well...now the three of us. She always hated the name Amelia, so...she started to go by Emily, and it stuck."_

_"Hmm...Jack suits him fine as well. Sweet Dreams, Jack."_


	2. Chapter 2

"Stop." I voiced as I stared at the vision of Pitch leaning over the cot. It was strange to see the same person who went after Bunny and the others with so much hatred. The person here and the person that we just defeated are like night and day.

"Ya alright there, Jacky?"

"No, not really. I just found out that Pitch is my adoptive father. The weirdest thing in the world about that is...he actually seems decent at the moment. He even got Wendy to sprinkle..." My eyes went wide and I immediately turned to Sandy. "Oh my God...Sandy are you okay?"

Sandy looked at me and nodded his head with a smile and with his symbols he said,  _"It's strange, and uncomfortable, but I knew Pitch Black before he was Pitch Black. So did Bunny. We both knew him at around the same time. It's strange...but it's like watching more than just your past, and I mean...that's obvious, but it's like seeing shades of the old Pitch."_

"Pitch wasn't always Pitch?"

 _"No..."_  Sandy told me with a small smile.  _"It's like Tooth said. We were all somebody before we were chosen, and he used to be a good man that loved his wife and daughter."_

"Yeah, apparently. It's just...a bit weird to see. Are you sure you're alright?"

 _"He's using it for it's intended purpose. As surprising as it is that he's doing that at all...I'm glad he is. The way you were left was horrible, and at least you're being looked after. I..."_ Sandy then looked down at his hands, then up at the other Guardians. After that, I could tell he let out a silent sigh.

"What's wrong, Sandy?"

_"We should've been there. At the very least I should've been. You already fell asleep once...I should've known, but I didn't."_

I smiled at him, feeling a warmth in my heart. "I don't blame you. All of you were looking after all the children of the world. I'm fine now, see?" I told him as I spun around, but as I did, I got a full view of self disappointed faces. "Guys?" I asked them with a concerned tone as I looked up at them.

"Sandy is right, Jack. We should've been there for you." North stated as he looked back at the cot.

I looked at Bunny and his ears were dropped, but I remembered his words from earlier. "Well, you're here now...right?" My words seemed to have made them feel better, because they all seemed to relax at once. They smiled at me and nodded their heads. "Alright then. Continue."

The scene shifted to me in a garden, and I had to have been a year old at least because I was able to sit up in the grass. The grassy field was lush and beautiful. There were at least three apple trees and two orange trees. There was also a small pond in between them. The area it was in, was clearly an area that would be hidden from humans. The sunlight that came in, came through a hole in the side of the cavern, shining light in most of the cavern, but leaving just enough room for Pitch to sit on a chair in the shadows.  _"Oh if the Guardians could see you."_  Wendy teased as she ruffled Pitch's hair while I played with the flowers in the sunlight, just in front of his chair.

Pitch grimaced as he reset his hair and continued to watch me happily pick flowers. "If _the Guardians could see me, they would accuse me of kidnapping or they would say I was trying to turn him into a fearling."_

_"Would you fight them if they did accuse you of such things?"_

_"No. I wouldn't have a leg to stand on, Wendy. I can't blame them for believing what they believe. I still remember everything that happened when the nightmares and fearlings had control over my body and voice. The only thing they didn't have control over were my senses. I could feel, see, taste, touch, and hear everything I did. What I did to Aster...there is nothing that could atone."_

I heard a gasp come from behind me so I looked at the memory and softly said, "Stop." Then, I turned to see Bunny staggering back a bit as his eyes stared at memory Pitch in complete shock. I looked to the others, and they also looked at him in shock. "Bunny...do you know who Aster is?"

"Yeah...ya could say that, mate. I know him well. Ya see...that's my name."

"No...your name is Bunny...isn't it?"

Bunny then looked down at me and gave a smile I hadn't seen before, but it looked wrong on Bunny. It was a cross between regret, pity, and guilt. "Nah, that's just a portion of my name and the only ones who know my name are Pitch, Mother Nature, Manny, Father Time, North, Sandy, and Tooth. No one else knows, and I had planned to keep it that way after the battle with Pitch...the first one."

"Wait...so what's your real name?"

"E. Aster Bunnymund. That's my name, and back before Pitch had gone dark...we were actually friends once. I introduced him to my wife, and my seven kits. He played with them and somehow kept up with them almost as well as I did...but then...he was overrun by darkness. Which...now that he says what he's saying...with nothing to gain from it...it has to be the truth, and it makes sense. The man I knew...he wouldn't have tortured anyone on my planet. He helped protect it. It's just...surprising. It's strange to discover this side of Pitch that I thought was long gone once he was overrun by darkness, and then he goes and basically says that he was tortured on the inside and that what he did to me, he couldn't make up for. It's all...a bit much. That was more years ago than ya can probably count."

As much as I really wanted to know more about Bunny's life, and the fact that he had  _seven_  kits, which I'm assuming are kids, I could tell by the tone in his voice that it was more than a simple sore spot. It was a reopened wound, and I was not about to pour salt in it, especially after the fact that he let me cry into his fur. "So...this is going to be an awkward journey for everyone."

"Seems like."

"Well...let's get this over with then..."

"Wait!" Tooth shouted.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Just..." She walked over to where I sat and crouched down so she could look at the small memory me. "You're so cute. I don't understand it."

I quirked an eyebrow as I watched her gaze at my smaller self with what I could only describe as confusion and sadness mixed in with something deeper. "What don't you understand?" I asked her as I walked along the grass before crouching next to her.

"How someone could...just get rid of you. She never gave you a chance. She called you a devil child, Jack! That doesn't sit well with me, and yet here you are in the presence of Pitch Black, who seems to be a better person than that woman."

"Yeah well...we'll see more of that, I'm sure...Let's um...continue."

 _"Who is Aster?"_  Wendy asked with a curious voice as she gently wrapped herself around me.

_"If he has not said who he is, I will not say. Let's just say...we were like Brothers once."_

_"Fine, keep your secrets."_

_"They are not MY secrets to tell, that's the thing."_

_"Fine...so why did you pick this spot? I mean, I get that he's a year old now, and it's spring, but this area has the most light."_

_"That's exactly why, Wendy. The boy needs sunlight. We've had this conversation haven't we? If he doesn't get enough sunlight it will effect how he sees and how he looks. It will also alter how the sun effects him. So, he needs sun."_

_"Fair enough...but you do realize...he's fifteen months old and he hasn't said his first word yet?"_

_"Yes, I am well aware. He'll talk when he's ready."_

_"What are you going to do if he calls you Dada or Papa?"_  The wind chuckled as she rushed around my smaller form, making me giggle in delight.

The look on Pitch's face seemed warm yet sad somehow, and at the moment, I still couldn't decide which was the more concerning of the two.  _"I don't see how he would know to call me that, as I haven't taught him how to say those words. I've taught him my name and your name along with a few basic words."_  He lifted himself up from his chair and waved a hand towards one of the apple trees, commanding a shadow to cut off and bring him an apple. Once it was in his hand, he sat back down and took out a knife from his pocket, and began peeling the skin off the apple, and throwing away the skin in a nearby trash can. Once it was fully peeled he started to gently slice it, setting each slice on a small plate.  _"Jack, snack time."_

The smaller me giggled loudly as Wendy brushed against my hair.  _"Come on Jack!"_  She whispered to me. At her words, I pushed myself off the ground, and with Wendy's help, kept balance. Then, I began to toddle over to where Pitch was, and then I noticed that there was an image sewn into the shirt I was wearing. It was a golden cloud made of thread. I could only guess it was Sandy's dream cloud so I took a side glance at him and noticed that he must've thought the same thing too. Not wanting to interrupt more than necessary I decided to let the memory continue.

Once I got to Pitch's leg, I grabbed it with a fit of giggles.  _"P..."_  I started to say, and Pitch's eyes widened.

 _"You're going to speak?"_  He asked me with wide eyes and an even wider smile.  _"Come on, you can do it, Jack. Say...Pitch."_

_"P...P..."_

_"That's it! Keep going."_

_"P...P...Papa!"_  I shouted and was thrown into an even bigger fit of giggles.

 _"Papa!?"_  Pitch questioned with a sharp breath. Then, with an amused smile, he narrowed his eyes at me and ran a hand through my hair.  _"Wendy, is this your doing?"_

 _"I...may have had something to do with it."_  She told him in a sing song tone that I knew all too well. She definitely had something to do with it.

 _"Papa?"_  The smaller me asked as I stood up against Pitch's leg again, and what was once shock and astonishment, quickly morphed into an overjoyed expression.

 _"I guess there's no helping it now, is there?"_  He chuckled out as he picked me up to rest me on his lap, and I, along with everyone else viewing the memory, noticed the singular happy tear that left his eye.

 _"No, not really."_  Wendy chuckled out softly.

 _"Here you go, Jack. I got you an apple."_  Pitch told the smaller me, and handed me a small slice of a peeled apple. When I took it from his hand, it almost immediately frosted, and watching it, I was personally caught by surprise.

 _"It...It frosted!"_  Wendy said.

 _"Yes, so it did."_  Pitch stated as his brow furrowed and I began to cry. He then picked me up in his arms and patted me on the back.  _"Shh...it's alright. It was an accident."_  Once I calmed down he placed me back on his lap and offered me another apple.  _"Jack?"_  Pitch asked, and the smaller me looked up before grabbing it.  _"Are you hungry?"_  A smile grew on my face, followed by a smile on Pitch's.  _"Alright, you have to be very careful, okay?"_  The smaller me then turned back to look at the apple and carefully grabbed it. When it didn't frost over, I giggled in Pitch's lap and put the apple in my mouth, giving it a soft bite.

_"It seems...he can do more than make it cold."_

_"I had suspected that for a long time. This boy...he will be powerful. We will both need to train him."_

_"How would I be able to train him?"_

_"Speak with him, calm him, encourage him, and perhaps at some point...see if he can fly."_

_"I understand you'll be doing all the same...but fly? Are you sure?"_

_"It's a feeling I have."_

_"Hmm...well...if you're sure..."_

_"There's also one more thing..."_

_"What is it?"_

_"I may do something drastic for Jack. Something...unlike me."_

_"Oh, you mean something more unlike you than taking on a child?"_ Wendy snapped back playfully, and if she had a body, I'm sure she would defiantly be placing her hands on her hips by now with a smug smirk on her face.

_"Yes, actually. You see, no one would think it strange if I took a child. What they would find strange is that I'm taking care of him and not turning him into a fearling prince."_

_"Alright...so what is it?"_

_"I want to..."_  Pitch looked at the smaller me with a smile that was fond, but confused at the same time.  _"...and this will sound completely strange, but if I don't do it, I feel like I would be doing more harm than...than..."_

_"You would feel like you would be doing more harm than...good?"_

_"Yes, that...I...am going to give him something precious to all children. Something...that will help him fight fears...should he have any."_

_"W-Why w-would you do that!? Y-You're right! That is unlike you! Are you well, Pitch?"_

_"I once fought against fearlings, nightmares, nightmare pirates, and the shadows. I've seen what they can do to an innocent's outlook on the world. I have seen what it can do to one's Joy, Hope, Wonder, Dreams, and Memories. I have personally experienced what it can do to one's body, mind, heart, and soul...and I can't let that happen to Jack. I just can't."_

_"He really has become like a son to you."_  Wendy stated in shock, and frankly, I couldn't blame her. I was completely speechless and nearly breathless at what Pitch was saying. It was strange, but it was good, and the longer I experience my memories with Pitch, the more I'm confused as to why he fought with the Guardians, and then towards the end of the battle...me.

_"Yes, he has...and I already lost my daughter. I won't lose my son too. I can't, Wendy...I just...I can't."_

_"But...the Guardians won't know him. Not while he's down here."_

_"When he's old enough that it won't be a concern, I'll let him explore the above world, while giving him lessons on what to expect among other things. It's March...Easter is next month. I'm going to do something that if I'm caught...would be rather embarrassing."_

_"Y-You...you're going to paint eggs and hide them...aren't you?"_

_"Just to give him some belief. All children need it. If they don't have it...well...the result wouldn't be good especially in Jack's case considering the boy seems to have powers that are growing as he grows. I am the perfect example of what can happen when powers go awry. It would not be good for Jack or others if all he has is darkness, outings here and there, and only the animals to keep him company. No...unfortunately...even though at the moment he may be non-existent to the Guardians because he's down here with me and not up there...he will still need to hold onto what they represent in order to control his powers, and the most powerful way to do that is to give him belief."_

_"You would truly give him belief in the Guardians?"_ Wendy questioned not in shock or astonishment, but in awe, because every bit of his tone spoke the truth and that he meant all of it. There was determination, resignation, guilt, and something similar to a promise but lighter. It left all of us nearly breathless at the whole thing.

 _"I will."_  He admitted in a matter of fact tone as he ran a hand through my smaller self's hair, causing a smile to burst on my face as I turned to look at him.  _"I will tell him stories about them that no one has ever heard. I will also tell them of what they do and represent."_

_"But...that...you...I mean...this is strange...unexpected...I...why would you...I mean, don't they...didn't they...?"_

_"Yes, I am well aware how strange and unusual it sounds, but you have to admit, this is a strange and unusual situation. Now, the reason I'm doing this...I've already said. It's for Jack's safety and growth, and in hindsight, the safety of others. It would do no good if he had powers, hurt people with it, felt the pain of hurting innocent people, and only further lashing out. Yes, the Guardians hate me, but I also recognize they have every right to. I for one...well, I wouldn't say hate or even loathe really, but they can be insufferable and the fact that children believe in them and not me has me more than a little miffed...there's no reason why Jack should feel that way about them."_

_"I can see you're point...it's just...it's a bit difficult to comprehend that you would do that. Um...what kind of stories would you be telling him?"_

_"First...tell me the full names you think the Guardians go by. That way...I keep their own secrets rather than spilling them. Names are important things to us spirits...you should know that."_

_"Right um...well, there's North, who I only know as North. Then, there's Toothiana, Easter Bunny also known as Bunny, and finally Sandman. Those are the names I know them by."_

_"Then those are the names I will mention when telling the stories. I will tell them how they came to be, as I have found that out myself by personal experience, and I will tell them how they defeated me, but I may leave that part out until he's older. For now, I will tell him what they do and what they represent. He will have more knowledge about the Guardians than any other child."_

_"And...will you let him play with other children?"_

_"I answered that already. When he's old enough that it won't be an issue if a child is wandering, then I will. Or at the very least, when he can tell them that his father is...out or doing something, and that he was taught not to bring people over because I don't like it. That way, he can then play with other children, and I won't have to worry about them stumbling into my lair. One abandoned child won't go amiss apparently..."_  At the last word, Pitch seemed to ruefully roll his eyes, but mine stayed wide. I looked at the others and they wore around the same expression.  _"...but a small group of children? That will be a problem. I don't know exactly what I'll have him say, but...yes...I will eventually let him play with other children. If you will do me a favor before then, that would be helpful."_

_"What is it?"_

_"You said that the midwife said that he would've been better off without being in the family anyway. I need you to find out who the man is so that I can protect him until he is old enough to make his own decisions about how to treat and react to people who may be cruel."_

_"I will do my best."_

_"Thank you."_

_"You're welcome...but what will you do? What can you do? To the man I mean."_

_"If he should hurt Jack?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I won't kill him if that's what you're asking. What I will do however, is make it seem to the other villagers that he's gone mad by sending shadows after him and only him. You said the woman that gave birth to him was the village leader...well that would then make her husband the village leader after her death. If the villagers think he has gone mad, they will choose a new leader. I've seen them do this before."_ After I finished my fourth apple slice, Pitch set me back down on to the ground, and I toddled my way back to my little patch of grass with the small white flowers.  _"I also plan to do something I haven't done since I raised Emily."_

_"What would that be? You're already raising him..."_

_"On days that Emily had proven to be too difficult for her mother, which was more often than not, I took it upon myself to raise her and teach her how to properly act and react to things. I raised her to be a lady...a princess. I'll do the same with him. I'll raise him to be an educated gentleman and I'll raise him to be like a prince...a noble child. A wild one, like Emily was, but a noble child none the less. In some ways, they're actually very similar."_

_"You know...we both know that names are important things...so why do you keep calling Mother Nature...Emily?"_

_"That was the name I gave her when she was born. You knew her name, didn't you?"_

_"I did. She has told me and my three former siblings her name so that if anyone should speak it, and we hear it, we were to report to her immediately. You have nothing to worry about in that regard. She is no longer my Mother, and I have higher priorities now."_  Wendy told him as she wrapped her air around me, ruffling my hair in the wind.  _"He will be a good child."_

 _"He already is."_ Pitch told her with a soft smiled as he propped his elbow on the arm of the chair and rested his head on his fist.  _"I must thank you for convincing me."_

 _"Thank me?"_  Wendy practically gasped in shock and none of us could blame her.

_"Yes. I know when he reached his hand out to me I reached out for him, but honestly, I don't know what I would've done with him. Both of you have brought me a peace I haven't known in such a long time."_

_"Well, I'm just glad that you're going to do everything you can to make sure he grows up to be good and in control of his powers. I'll help of course, like I said, but there is something to consider."_

_"What would that be?"_

_"Some humans that see him may want to accept him into their family if they discover that he, in fact, doesn't have a house...at least not one on the surface. If they take as much a shine to him as you have..."_

Pitch nodded his head and let out a sigh.  _"I'll allow him to make that decision. Even I had friends that were like family at one point. I considered him to be my brother and his children, my nieces and nephews."_  Pitch let out a soft reminiscent chuckle before he continued,  _"They even called me uncle when they were old enough to speak."_

_"Are we talking about the one named Aster?"_

_"Yes."_  Pitch nodded and smiled.  _"Now...let's say, hypothetically that he does start to live with the mortals up top, they would have to accept him. If they do, and he gains friends that are like siblings to him, he will more than likely call them as much as a family as he calls me and you. I will allow it. He can call them his extended family if he likes, but I will also make sure that he knows he can always return and that even if the other children should walk through me, I will still watch over him and witness how he interacts with them."_

 _"I'm glad."_  Wendy seemed to sigh out and then the scene started to change, but before it could fully settle I told it to stop, and it did.


	3. Chapter 3

"Pitch...he..." North started and we were all thinking the same thing. "...he said he would tell you stories of us. He said he would give you belief. The man here...and the man we just fought...two completely different people. Like night and day."

"He's..." Bunny started with something staining his fur on his cheek. "...mate...you...none of ya knew what kind of man he used to be. Sandy, would know, but...well, I...the kind of man he was...like I said, he was a good man, and he played and spent time with my family. He was right, we were like brothers in a weird sort of way. He was a good man, and I thought..." His fur got stained some more and I realized he was crying. My eyes went wide, and honestly, it hurt to see him this way. "...I had thought that the man I knew was long gone, and when we just fought with him I...but the man that's takin' care of ya, Jack...that's the man I knew. Shreds and pieces, but yeah."

"Bunny...will you be okay?" I asked him carefully as I put a hand on his arm.

He looked down at me and gave me a very brief smile. "I'm honestly not sure, Jacky. This all somehow lead up to him attacking us Guardians deliberately, and considerin' he's willin' to have ya believe in us...somethin' had to have happened for his noggin to crack again. Here..." Bunny gestured to the scene that was in the middle of changing. "...in your memories...he's sane. He's alert, aware, and well...not corrupt. He does appear to have control...but somethin' snapped it."

"We'll figure out what it was, Bunny. Don't worry." I told him as I suddenly felt the urge to hug him.

He hugged me back and if I didn't know any better, I would say he purred somehow. "Thanks, Jacky." He told me as he let me go. "Wanna get on with it? I don't wanna get stuck in my feelin's, but I'm afraid that there's more to come."

"Right..." I told him with a single determined and understanding nod. "Continue."

 _"I'm beginning to think that this is your favorite place to visit."_  Wendy teased Pitch who was again in the same strange oasis as last time.  _"It's been a little over a full year since he first called you Papa. It's the middle of summer now...and since then we've come here...at least fifty times. I'm staring to think maybe him calling you Papa may have had something to do with it."_

Pitch rolled his eyes as he walked within the shadows.  _"And if it did?"_

_"HA! Oh, you are so sentimental!"_

_"Yes, well, to be fair, you didn't know me before. A very long time ago, if I considered something special or monumental I held on to it. So, yes...I'm sentimental. That's how I got to be...this."_

_"Yes...you told me. I'm sorry Pitch."_

_"It's not like you were the one tricking me."_  He shrugged, but then his eyes widened and he immediately turned his head. We followed to where he was looking and I was starting to walk too close to the water, and if what Wendy said was true, I was two and a half here, and definitely couldn't swim.  _"Jack!"_  He shouted, but it was too late, I had fallen in. At the sound of me splashing in the water, Pitch ran towards the water that had started to freeze above me, and he jumped in just before it turned into solid ice. A short time later, he pulled me out, breaking through the thin layer of ice that formed, and I was unconscious.  _"Wind! Get air into his lungs!"_  He shouted as he started doing CPR on my small chest, which was weird, because I'm pretty sure CPR wasn't a thing back then, but maybe it was thing wherever Pitch came from. In a short minute of me being above water and not breathing yet, the look of fear on Pitch's face turned into terror.  _"No, no, no!"_  He said quickly, but then I coughed out water, and he immediately held me in his arms. His shoulders sagged in relief. After he seemed to calm some he pushed me away a little, but still held me.  _"Don't scare me like that!"_  He shouted and then held me again petting the back of my hair as a few tears left his eyes.

_"Papa...scared?"_

Pitch then set me down onto the grass, and we were both soaking wet, but he nodded his head.  _"Yes, Papa got very very scared."_

I had started walking closer to him and then I motioned a come here movement so Pitch did. Then, I kissed his forehead.  _"Better now?"_

He smiled and choked out a sob at the same time while he nodded his head frantically.  _"Yes, Papa is_ _much better now."_  He asked me, but I didn't say anything. When he stood back up he looked at his clothes and then mine.  _"Come on. We both need baths, but you're getting yours first."_

 _"NOOOOO! No bath!"_ I shouted stomping my feet, and from where I personally stood, it was incredibly amusing. The others seemed to think so too, because they were all smiling with pure amusement in their eyes.

 _"I don't care how much you hate baths, you're getting one."_  Pitch argued as he picked me up, and he went through the shadows which was just as disorienting as it was when he did it to me in his lair. Suddenly, we were in a bathroom. Then, there was a sudden blink and Pitch had already gotten me dressed in a loose shirt and pants, and was still drying off my hair.  _"There, not so bad was it?"_

_"Flowers! I smell like flowers!"_

_"Mint and Lavender, Jackson. You smell like Mint and Lavender."_ Pitch chuckled as he put the towel in the hamper.

 _"WENT AND WAVENDEER!"_ Smaller me shouted proudly, and at that point current me couldn't help but let out a laugh. It was amusing watching my younger self, and I had to admit, it was a bit heart warming that Pitch got so panicked about me drowning that he dove into the water. However, at that moment, both me in the memory and the me now noticed something.  _"Papa...Owie."_  I pointed, and continued to point at what seemed to be burn marks.

 _"Ah..."_  Pitch said as he looked at the burn marks.  _"...Papa doesn't do real well in the sun. Lots of Owies...but I'll be okay."_

_"Medi?"_

_"Yeah, I'm gonna have to put medicine on it, but it'll be fine."_

_"YUCKY!"_

Pitch chuckled as he smiled at me fondly, and I personally caught a glimpse of an actual fatherly look, making current me speechless.  _"Yes, it will feel yucky, but it will help me get better. It will get rid of the Owies."_

 _"Otay!"_  I shouted happily.  _"Mama kiss better too?"_

 _"Hmm...and when was 'Mama' going to tell me that you call her Mama?"_  He asked aloud while he walked me out of the bathroom. As we followed my younger self and Pitch into the rest of the lair, my eyes went wide at what I saw.

"Stop!" I shouted in disbelief, and the others seemed to notice my reaction.

"What's wrong, Jacky?" Bunny asked me.

"This is nothing what it looked like when I...when...before Easter. It..." I looked around and didn't see any cages, and even though there was a lot of black, it was in certain areas like on the pillars. The inside looked like a freaking palace. The floor was made of marble, and there were golden flecks painted in. The hallways weren't at all the same. They weren't twisted and slanted, they were neatly placed and designated as if I were walking in an actual palace. The only word I could use to describe it was...majestic. I looked up and there were black chandeliers that held no candles, and a black ceiling. I looked around and noticed the only thing that really did have color was the marble floor I had noticed earlier. It was dark, but not frighteningly so. If it wasn't for the fact that Pitch wouldn't be welcomed anywhere else, and I wasn't old enough to make decisions yet, I would think that we were somewhere else entirely, but he was comfortable here. So, all in all, I had to come to the conclusion that this was his lair.

"This is what his palace looked like." Bunny told me, and my eyes went wide. "I've been to his palace...took my kits to visit him. They ran all over the place, but he didn't mind...anyway, yeah. However, the chandeliers had candles always lit. I can't believe his lair looked like this." Bunny stated with a shocked expression of his own.

"None of you had been down to his lair...have you?"

"Why would we?" North asked with a matter of fact tone. "That would be like going into lion's den with no weapons."

"Right...I could understand that...but I..." When the realization dawned on me, I actually fell flat on my ass as I continued to look around at our surroundings. "I lived in a palace!"

"That ya did, mate." Bunny chuckled out as he gave me his paw to help me stand back up. Once I was up I continued to gawk at everything around me. "Quite the sight, ain't it, mate?"

"A palace...Pitch had a palace. Why did Pitch have a palace!?"

"He was Lord High General of the Galaxies. He was basically a king, his wife was a queen, and his daughter a..."

"...princess. He said that he raised her to...but then...he's raising me too so...what in the...!?"

"Won't know unless we continue."

"Right...Continue."

 _"I...I was going to tell you...when the time was right."_ She mentioned shyly.

 _"Seems like that time is now."_ Pitch chuckled as he walked me to my room. _"You HAD said you would watch over him like a mother."_

_"Right, I know, but now...now I..."_

_"You what?"_  Pitch asked in an almost cautious tone.

_"Mama loves Papa! I happy!"_

_"Jackson! Don't tell him that!"_ She shouted, and with her tone, I could instantly tell that if she could blush, she would've been as red as a rose.

 _"Does she now?"_  Pitch smirked mischievously.  _"Hey, Jack..."_  Pitch started as he crouched down to face me.

_"Papa?"_

_"How much did Mama say she loves Papa?"_

_"LOTS!"_

_"Pitch I...what Jack just said I..."_

_"Hmm...and how sure are you, Wendy..."_ He started s he stood back up. "... _that your connection to Mother Nature is severed? You told me you looked into it, but you never said what you found."_

 _"It's completely severed, and I'm now tied to Jack as his Mother."_ She told him, still obviously embarrassed by me revealing her confession. _"It's actually like it was never there in the first place. I'm...it's as if I've been my own spirit this whole time, but I'm tied to Jack now. Also, I was right. Mother had very quickly picked a new North Wind. So...I am no longer limited to one direction anymore either."_

_"Well, that's good then. Otherwise, this would've been awkward and wrong on more levels than just one."_

_"What...um...what would've been awkward?"_ She asked as she cautiously circled herself around me.

 _"If I told you that I love you too."_  He stated in a soft and caring tone, and almost immediately at his words, all of the wind in the area stopped.  _"Wendy?"_  He questioned as his eyes widened with concern.

After about two minutes of patiently waiting for an answer, Wendy could be heard once more.  _"I...you..."_

_"What happened?"_

_"I guess...the equivalent of fainting for me. You um...really?"_

_"Yes. Although...it feels strange loving someone I cannot physically see...and there will be a learning curve for both of us, but it's the truth. Somehow...along with learning how to be a father again...I learned to love again."_

_"So...we're both...equally his adoptive parents...it's not just two people looking after a child?"_

_"Not anymore at least."_  He chuckled out and suddenly the wind wrapped herself around Pitch, causing him to let out a warm and joyous laugh.

The scene changed again, and we were in an area we hadn't seen yet. This place didn't have a pond or the trees, but it was plenty green, and there were a lot of flowers on the sides of the cavern, and creeping up the walls were large vines that just barely covered the hole at the top, but were thick enough vines that no one would fall through if they should step on them.  _"Jack, tell me...do you know how old you are?"_ Pitch asked as he stood next to me, and I was wearing a loose blue shirt with brown pants. In an eerie way it was like the outfit I'm wearing now, but without the hoodie of course.

_"I'm six years old...almost seven! You know that!"_

_"Good job! Now, tell me...what do you know about the Easter Bunny, Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Sandman?"_

_"That I can't call him North...I have to call him Santa..."_

_"Good...what else do you know?"_

_"I...I know that the Easter Bunny came from very far away in space! He's a Pooka!"_  My excited and joyful expression at mentioning Bunny was a Pooka took the wind out of both me and Bunny, but we didn't say anything.

_"Very good!"_

_"He spreads Hope to kids like me."_

_"Yes, he does and he works very hard. Now, what about Santa? You mentioned him."_

_"He...spreads Wonder. He gives presents the day after my birthday...Christmas, right?"_

_"That's right. Now, what about the Tooth Fairy?"_

_"She is an actual fairy with lots of mini versions of herself! She protects memories."_  I lit up again and started spinning around.

_"Excellent! Now what do you know about Sandman?"_

_"He gives me sweet dreams at night and keeps the nightmares away."_  The smaller me beamed up at him, and I was a bit stunned by my own words so I looked over to see Sandy's reaction and his eyes were wide with tears slowly making their way down his face.

"Stop." I called to the scene and then I turned back to face Sandy again. "Sandy?"

Sandy didn't look at the me next to him, but the me in front of him. He shook his head and clasped a hand over his mouth. "Sandy?" Bunny questioned. "What's wrong?"

Sandy slowly started lifting up his symbols.  _"Pitch gave me credit for giving Jack sweet dreams...but it wasn't me. He really had been giving him belief...and he gave me credit when I didn't deserve it. The first time I ever gave Jack a dream...it was in 1712...he was a spirit by then. I...I personally hadn't given him a single dream until he...until he was a spirit. I...I am so sorry, Jack."_

"Don't be sorry...please." I told him as I put a hand on his shoulder. "You made up for it when I was a spirit. You let me play with the dream sand, remember?"

Sandy smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes, which seemed so wrong on Sandy.  _"Thank you, Jack, but..."_

"But nothing!" I told him, unable to see him like that any longer. "Fourteen years verses three hundred? I think you still win in the end. Besides...how many kids can say that they've played with the Sandman's sand."

Sandy then looked at me and genuinely smiled.  _"Thank you, Jack. That means a lot."_

"I'm assumin' we're goin' to see what the two of ya are talkin' about in later visions?" Bunny questioned with a risen brow.

 _"Yes, you will."_  Sandy confirmed as he wiped his tears.  _"Jack...please continue it."_

"Continue." I told the vision with a small smile.

 _"That's exactly right."_ Pitch congratulated me with a wide smile.  _"Now...tell me what we know you can do?"_

_"I...I can make it very very cold, I can freeze water by touching it, if I'm not careful I freeze the pretty flowers, I can make it snow, I can frost things, and I..."_

_"And you...?"_  He asked carefully seemingly knowing the answer.

"And I...I accidentally killed the sheep by making it too cold and freezing the ground. I...I..." Almost instantly my smaller self started to sob and cry while trying to wipe away the oncoming tears at the same time.  _"I'm sorry...P-Papa!"_

_"It's alright, Jack. It was an accident. I had your mother take care of the sheep and now you have a new blanket being made for you...it's okay. You are new to it, that's all, but before I tell you any more...can you tell me what the Guardians of Childhood have in common?"_

_"Oh...they um..."_  I started as I wiped the last of the tears away, seemingly calmed by Pitch's words. Even to the me from now...the words were comforting.  _"They have magic...and powers...and stuff."_

_"Good, and that's what you have, my dear boy. You have powers and magic. It's scary isn't it?"_

_"Yeah..."_  I whimpered out.

_"Yeah...well, we're going to fix that."_

_"You're gonna help me fight my fears?"_

_"No...I'm going to teach you how to control them. I'm going to teach how to embrace and accept your fears. There's always something to be afraid of, and the fact that you are afraid of your power and magic is a very good thing. It means that you don't want to hurt anyone, and I'm going to teach you how not to hurt anyone. Now...do you remember when I told you to pick a branch off of a tree that was as tall as you?"_

_"Yeah...you cut it and we took it home. You said you needed it for something very important."_

_"That's right, and here it is."_  He said as he took a small staff out of his robe. It wasn't shaped like my shepherd's staff, it was shaped like a normal staff, but it it was carved beautifully, and it was covered in a coating that made it shine as well as protect it from anything destroying it like time and frost.  _"This is a staff, Jack, and it's yours. Go on, take it."_

I took it and immediately it frosted where my hands touched it, causing me to jump in shock and drop it.  _"Papa! It frosted!"_

_"I know, son. It's alright. Unless you want to, you won't hurt anyone with the staff. It's what is known as a conduit."_

_"A can't-do-it?"_

_"No...Conduit. It will help you focus your energy. You will likely have to always have a staff, but don't worry, as you get older you'll get a new one. Now, go ahead and pick it up."_

I apparently hesitated to pick it up, but when I did, there was a smile on face as it frosted over this time.  _"Now what?"_  I asked.

_"Now, I want you to try using it."_

_"How?"_

_"Hmm...can you tell me if you remember feeling a difference with the different ways you use your powers?"_

_"Feeling different?"_

_"Yes like...an emotion and then your powers happened."_

_"Oh! Well, when I frost things, I'm hmm...what's the word...I'm happy...but a calm happy."_

_"Content is the word you're looking for."_

_"Okay! Content! Yeah, and it feels nice. Then, when I get very sad...it gets really cold and sometimes starts to snow, but only around me. Then, there's when I freeze things like the ground and the plants...it happens when I'm very happy and I want to play...but I don't know the word."_

_"That word is called playful."_  Pitch smiled at me, seemingly understanding where something was going, but I was still lost.

_"So...when I'm content I make things frost and when I'm playful I freeze things?"_

_"Seems so. What about when you make it snow on purpose, like you did at the orchard?"_

_"Oh...that..."_  I smiled meekly as if remember something I had done wrong.

 _"Yes..."_  Pitch chuckled out fondly.  _"...that."_

_"Ah well...when I make it snow on purpose...I feel like I want to laugh, but I don't. I'm super happy and could laugh if I wanted to...but I don't...it's hard to explain..."_

_"Mirthful. You're filled with mirth. I'll give you a dictionary later so you can look it up, but that's what it's called. Alright...so you're content when you frost things, playful when you freeze things, and Mirthful when you make it snow on purpose. Now...how about when you accidentally killed the sheep?"_

The younger version of me flinched at the mention of it, but I nodded my head at Pitch anyway.  _"I...well...when you yelled at me about climbing the tree...because you thought I would fall..."_

_"Which you did."_

_"...Anyway...I was angry...and right when I got angry...I felt my ice powers and it was angry too...it was very angry, and then when I tried to move the sheep out of my way...before I could even touch it...the lightning ice shot out...I...I wasn't happy. Although...it wasn't exactly angry either it...it was more than that...I...I was very angry. A word more than angry..."_

_"You were furious. That's the word you're looking for. It's when you're past angry, but not quite to the point where you want to hurt someone. So, Content when frosting, Playful when you freeze things, Mirthful when you make it snow on purpose, and Furious when you shoot out lightning ice or electric ice. It seems...your powers run off of your emotions. The staff you're holding will help you, but only just. You have to learn some control as well. Would you like to learn?"_

_"Yes please!"_

_"Alright, now...what do you want to try first?"_

_"I...want to freeze one of the roses so I can give it to Mama."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Alright, let's walk over to it."_  Pitch walked me to the rose bush and tapped the top of the staff.  _"Use the staff. Remember the feeling you get when you freeze things, and use the staff with that feeling."_

I apparently understood, because I took the staff and did exactly that, but half of the rose bush was crystallized in ice.  _"Papa!"_

 _"It's alright, look..."_ He told me as he gently placed his hands on my shoulders, and crouched down to my level. _"...half of it is covered...not all of it. You have to keep learning. You're not going to get it in a day, but for right now, this is good."_

Without warning I turned around and hugged him as tightly as I could.  _"You really think I'll be able to learn?"_

_"Yes, I do. You just have to practice at it."_

_"Pitch!"_  Wendy shouted as she rushed through the area we were in.

 _"Yes, darling? What is it?"_  He asked as he stood up and I walked away to give him some room.

_"I found the man...I was wondering why I couldn't find him after you asked me to...but I found him."_

_"What happened to him?"_

_"Apparently he tried to...Jack, honey...please cover your ears."_  I did as I was told, but the memory allowed me to hear it, even though I'm almost certain it was too soft for me to hear regardless. She swirled around Pitch's shoulder gently as she whispered,  _"He tried to murder the mid-wife after she said that the infant and the mother had both died in childbirth. He was drunk and was caught strangling her. They took him out into the middle of the forest and hung him. I couldn't find him, because I wasn't looking there. I cut him down and pushed some earth over his body."_  The wind then made her way to swirl around me, and I uncovered my ears.  _"Thank you, sweetie."_

 _"What did you tell Papa?"_  I asked with a curious expression

_"Jack, it's why I told you to cover your ears. You weren't meant to hear it, love. Sorry."_

_"It's okay...Papa is going to teach me how to control my powers!"_  I jumped up and down excitedly and ran to hug Pitch's leg.

_"I'm so glad! I'll help too!"_

_"Yay! Mama and Papa are gonna help me!"_

The scene changed again and this time we were outside, genuinely outside and I had to be about eight or nine. We were walking around the pond and I was holding onto a taller staff of a different design. It was more similar to my shepherd's staff, but it didn't have the crook at the end. However, what it did have was a perfectly carved out star at the top almost as if it was formed that way. "Well then..." I heard Bunny breathe out.


	4. Chapter 4

"Stop!" I commanded. "What is it, Bunny?"

"Well, that staff you're holdin' there ain't your typical staff design. It's basically a display of the first born child of the Lord High General of the Galaxies. It is given to the child when they've fully grown into their powers. Pitch got his at the age of twelve when he finished his communication magic and light power training. You...received your staff at a young age, and if I'm correct, he gave that to you, because you finished the training he had given you, and judging by the silver tint at the top of the star and on top of the white, you learned how to keep your powers discreet."

"Really? That staff means that much?"

"It does to Pitch. Tell me, Jacky...in all the years you've lived as a spirit, have you ever once seen a staff like that?"

"Well...no...honestly...I haven't."

"Okay then. Let me let you in on a little secret about the top of the star. Different tints mean different things as far as the power is concerned. Red means fire, which means they had mastered the ability to not only control their fire magic, but they can harness and control heat as well. Green means that they have mastered their nature magic along with bein' able to heal. Yellow meant that they were able to completely harness communication and light magic, and would be able to communicate with any bein' in the universe...even nature itself, which was the one Pitch had. Brown meant that they had completely mastered animal trainin', meanin' that they could communicate and control any animal. Blue meant they had mastered the ability to harness and control water. Purple meant the same thing for air, don't ask why it's purple, I don't know. Then, there's yours. Underneath the silver there's white paint, signifyin' that you have mastered your winter magic."

"Well...what does the silver mean then?"

"Well...on special occasion...and not even Pitch got to have one of these, but he apparently knew of it...there would be an addition tint of either gold, silver, ebony, or ruby. The colored tints signified what you were able to do with your powers other than the powers themselves. Gold meant that you could switch between two different powers at any time, ebony meant that you could transform your magic into something else...in that regard it's a bit similar to Gold, but not quite...Ruby meant that you could use your power to alter the hearts of others, and then there's yours which is silver...it means that you are able to keep full and complete control of your winter magic and keep it discreet. Now, what  _that_  means is that you can use your magic in a way where no one will know it's coming from you unless you directly tell them or show them."

"Whoa...that's amazing!"

"Bunny...you know an awful lot of things that Pitch knows too..."

"Like I said...we were friends...and he was my general. I fought along side him. That is...until the black gate. I once swore to him that I would protect his family, but then all of that happened...well, it looks like I can continue doing that since Jacky here is his son. Blood relation or not, Jack is his son. Besides...you've seen my past."

"Yes...but your past is so long...we only saw you fighting Pitch among stars." North mentioned as he crossed his arms.

"Yeah...well...surprise..." Bunny trailed off as he scratch behind his head.

"So...those colors..." I started carefully. "...they mean I've gained control of my powers and I could basically use my powers without anyone knowing?"

"Yeah, basically."

"Maybe that's why I'm allowed out now. I'm in control..."

"That...actually makes quite a bit of sense considerin' what we saw."

"Okay...let's continue."

 _"How are your friends, Jack?"_ Pitch asked with a small smile as we walked. No one was around at the moment, so there was no reason for anyone to believe I was talking to myself, and it seemed to be either early or mid spring

_"They're good. Elizabeth gave birth today. She named her daughter Sarah."_

_"That's a beautiful name. Did you go and see her?"_

_"Yeah, she let me hold her. Then, she told me that even though they believe me when I say that you're a good father, that I'm allowed to call them family too...Like you and uncle Aster."_

"Stop! Hold up! What!?"

"Oi! I think I should be askin' that, mate!"

"I...but...you...and...I called you Uncle!"

"Well...to be fair..." Bunny seemed to calm down as he crouched low and seemingly embarrassed. "...when we were friends and we were like brothers...Emily had called me Uncle...I guess...it makes sense if he told you stuff like that...There's also the fact that you probably didn't know that I'm Aster if he really wasn't even willin' to tell the wind."

"Right...well, let's just get through the embarrassment, okay?"

"I'd have to agree...but we will talk about this later.

_"You can consider them a second family if you want."_

_"I can? but...I love you and Mother...I don't want..."_

At the words, it seemed as if Pitch was having to hold back tears as he smiled.  _"We love you too, Jack."_

 _"That's right."_  Wendy said as she spun around me, hugging me with her wind.  _"We will always love you. You're our son. That will never change. No matter what."_

 _"Even if Father goes back to being the boogeyman?"_ At my question all of our jaws dropped in shock at the fact that Pitch would have willingly told me about that.

 _"Even then."_ Pitch answered with a sad smile as he turned to face me.  _"Remember what I told you? Even though it was seemingly me...it wasn't. I was trapped in my own mind and body. I couldn't do anything. Do you also remember what I told you to do if that ever happens?"_

_"You told me to do five things..."_

_"That's right, Jack. What were they?"_

_"Do you want me to say them in order?"_

_"That would be helpful...and accurate."_

_"Alright...First, I'm supposed to try and get through to you, but I'm only allowed to try twice. Second, I'm supposed to run to the entrance of the underground palace and allow Mother to lift me out of the hole. Third, I'm supposed to try and convince the villagers that something dangerous is coming...and for them to evacuate. Fourth, I'm supposed to let Mother take me to the North Pole so I can warn the Guardians that the Boogeyman has escaped...and then..."_

_"And then...you will lead them to where I'm at. You will tell them as many of my weaknesses as you can, and you will have them defeat me."_

_"B-But why!?"_  I cried with tears spilling from my eyes as if there was a hidden waterfall behind my eyes.

Then, suddenly, Pitch wrapped his arms tightly around me with tears of his own slipping from his eyes.  _"Because, Jackson Overland Frost...you are my son, and I love you...so very very much. You and your Mother have made me happier than I think I've ever been...at the very least...the happiest I've been in millions of years. I can't..."_  He pulled away and rested his hands on both of my shoulders, crouching down to look me in the eyes.  _"I told you I was trapped inside my mind and body...what I meant by that was...I was able to witness EVERYTHING. I HEARD every scream, WATCHED every pain be inflicted by my hand along with every death, I FELT my hands commit murder! I SMELLED death and destruction and fire all around me, and everything that was happening...it left a BITTER TASTE in my mouth...but I could do NOTHING! I screamed! I begged! The nightmares and fearlings simply laughed and continued to use me until the Guardians defeated me. I can't...I can't watch myself do that to you Jack. I can't. It will break me and I will no longer feel a reason to live...just please...promise me you'll do what I ask. No matter what I say to you...if you couldn't get through to me...and you made it to the Guardians...if I ask you to join me...you have to remember...it's not me! It's them, and they will even use similar facial expressions and memories."_

_"I-I promise."_

_"Good, now look at my eyes, Jack. What color are they?"_

_"They're...they're silver..."_

_"That's right. If they ever change into a fully golden color...Do NOT hesitate to get the Guardians."_

_"What if...what if they're both silver AND gold?"_

_"Then there's a chance for me... I will likely fade in and out, but if it's reached the point that you had to get the Guardians...I beg you Jack...don't make me watch me hurt you..."_

_"I...I promise. I just...is this about the horse I saw?"_

_"Yes...and the whispers...they have started coming and going. They're not there much...but if they've started...I just...I can't...I can't hurt you Jack. It would kill me on the inside."_

_"A-Alright."_

_"Now...to get off of this...horrible topic. Will you accept them as a second family?"_

_"You...wouldn't be mad?"_

_"No, I had already decided it a long time ago. I told you that Aster was like a brother to me, and we were practically family...in a strange sort of way...perhaps they can be the same for you."_

_"I...would like that."_

_"Well then...tomorrow you will give them your answer, but make sure to tell them that your father doesn't like guests or socializing and that's why they can't come over. Do you understand?"_

_"Yes, I understand."_

The scene started to change, but before it did I commanded it to stop and I turned to face Bunny. "B-Bunny...?"

"Come here, Jacky." He said as he quickly pulled me into a tight hug. He held his left arm tightly around my back, his right paw on the back of my head, and he nuzzled his chin at the top of my head.

I clutched his fur tightly and buried my face into his scruff, tears immediately falling. "H-He asked...he a-asked me to..."

"He asked you to put him out of his misery. He didn't wanna hurt ya, Jacky, and from the genuineness coming off of him when he was talkin' to ya about it...I can sleep better at night knowin' that he didn't actually wanna hurt my family...or anyone else."

"He asked me to kill him."

"No...he asked for you to come and get us. If he was that adamant about ya not gettin' hurt...I'm sure he didn't want ya in the fight either." I nodded my head, and allowed myself to calm down, grateful for Bunny's sudden surge in protectiveness. It freaked me out at first, but after it being revealed that he's basically my uncle in a strange way...I think we both somehow instantly got closer.

Once I was calm, I pushed away and wiped my tears. "Sorry, Bunny..."

"No worries, mate. Reminds me of what my kits used to do...all the time."

"Kits...those are like...baby Pooka right?"

"Got it in one."

"And you had... _seven_  of them!?" I asked as I suddenly remembered how many children he said he had.

"It's how many my wife carried. All seven born on the same day. I'll tell you about them sometime. The memory of them...suddenly doesn't seem so painful anymore." Before I could say anything about that, he cleared his throat as his ears went back in what seemed to be an embarrassed fashion. I turned to the other Guardians and they were wearing proud yet sympathetic looks. "C'mon, we got more memories to see."

"Thanks...Uncle Aster..." I tried with a steady smirk and even though I was only teasing, it felt right.

Apparently it was right too, because Bunny took in a shuddering breath with wide eyes and a tear fell down his cheek. "Oh..." He sighed out. "That's...going to take some getting used to."

"Wait...you're actually gonna let me call you that?"

"Well, if these memories had taught me anythin', it's that when he raised ya, he was the man I once knew. That means he was the man I once called brother. So in a way, you're my nephew like my kits were his nieces and nephews. With all of that...I don't think I could refuse ya callin' me Uncle. Strange, I know...but still..." He seemed to notice the overly wide smile on my face, because his eyes widened. "What?"

"I have an uncle." I told him with a wide smile as I felt something warm in my heart, and I gave him another hug.

"I..." I heard him choke out in the middle of sob. "Oh, stars in the sky...I...I have a family again!" He sobbed out as he hugged me tighter, tears falling on my forehead.

I looked out of the corner of my eye to the others and smiled at what I saw. Tooth had her hands clasped over her mouth, Sandy was smiling wide, and North had his arms crossed with a look of approval. All of them were crying tears of Joy, and I could feel it in my center. It was almost overwhelming, but the one that nearly had me on the floor was Bunny's Joy. Bunny's Joy was light yet heavy at the same time. Almost as if a heavy burden was relieved from his heart, but that something good was put where the burden used to sit. It was desperate, determined, and it felt as if it held a solemn vow that only Bunny would be able to know about. It was strange to be able to feel all of that Joy at once, but with how strong his was at the moment, it was hard not to. After we both calmed down a bit, I pushed away, and he let me. I looked up at him, and he was wiping away a mess of tears. "You alright, Uncle Aster?" I tried again to see what would happen.

Bunny took in another shaky breath and let out another shaky sigh as he nodded his head and smiled. "Better than alright, Jacky...but we'll have plenty of time to talk about that after we continue with you're memories...and as far as calling me 'Uncle Aster' goes...bloody hell...ya can use it whenever ya want."

"Thank you." I told him simply before turning around. "Continue."

As the scene formed, we were back in the orchard where I said my first word.  _"What are we doing here?"_  I asked, and my voice was at it's normal level that it is now.  _'Well, that's one hell of a time Jump.'_  I thought to myself as I looked at the other Guardians who seemed to be thinking the same, but I wasn't going to mention anything about it.

_"Jack, you're thirteen now...and have been for four months now. When I was thirteen I had to make my own staff. It's time for you to do the same. It has to be made form a very important place so that it can connect to your heart. This is one such place. In this orchard, I gave you an apple from this tree right in front of us, and after you ate it, you said your first word. This tree should be perfect. Now, you have gotten rather good at carving..."_

_"Thank you, Father."_  I told him, and if I'm to be honest, my voice sounded a bit regal despite having the same accent that I do now, which matched Wendy's accent.

_"Let me finish. Now...you shouldn't have any issue carving out a staff, but remember, it has to be in a shape that you feel a connection with somehow. You have to decided it's height, weight, and shape. Then, when you're done, you will bring it to me and I will add the finishing touches to your final staff."_

_"My final staff?"_

_"Yes, it will be the staff you carry with you always. Now, it is important for you to know that when you have the shape, weight, and height in your mind...if you feel it is right in your heart, don't question it, and begin carving until you are satisfied with your work. I will say this, sometimes the shape won't make sense at the moment, and that's okay, because later on in your life it will. I will be here with you, but you cannot ask me for help. Just let me know when you're done...but first...pick a branch and cut it off."_

I walked closer to the tree, and surveyed it for a moment, and I noticed that my eyes kept going back to the same branch. It was a decent sized branch, and strangely straight, yet going at an angle out of the tree. I pointed my staff at it with a smirk and a sharp yet thin burst of electric ice shot out of the staff and cut the branch like it was butter, and I watched as it fell to the ground.  _"I choose this one. I know exactly what I'm gonna make too."_

_"Then get to it, Jack."_

I took out a knife from a small holster at my hip, sat down, and began carving. The scene blinked and suddenly I was done. I stood up and held my staff next to me. It was the staff I have now. _"I'm finished, Father."_ I told him as I sheathed my knife and brought the staff to him.

 _"Good, now take out your knife again and give it to me."_  I did as he asked, and when he took the knife and the staff, he put the staff in the crook of his arm and held out his hands.  _"Give me your right hand, Jack."_

_"What? Why!?"_

_"Because, it's part of your staff."_  I did as he asked and he carefully took my hand, and he cut from left to right in the middle of my palm, and then he dropped the knife, quickly forcing my hand into the middle of the staff.  _"On this day, March 27th, 1712...Jackson Overland Frost, first born son to Kozmotis Pitchiner and Wendy Pitchiner, becomes one with himself, his power, his magic, his staff, and one with the world as he knows it. The bond is set, the bond is matched, the bond is complete!"_ There was a bright blue light that came off of me, and seemed to pour into the staff, but then it evened itself between the two of us.

I immediately looked at my hand, and apparently noticed that there was no scar or wound.  _"There's...it's almost as if you hadn't cut me."_

_"The bond heals that. Have you noticed anything else?"_

I looked to my staff and noticed that it wasn't frosting in the middle anymore.  _"It...there's no frost!"_

_"As long as you know yourself there won't be. The staff knows you as well as you know yourself, so as long as you do not lose yourself...you will no longer see frost on your staff, and the other children will think that you have picked up a regular shepherd's staff."_

_"So...what happens if I lose myself?"_

_"It will frost...and even if you get portions of yourself back...unless all of you completely returns, it will remain frosted. That's okay though...if you lose yourself, the appearance is all you should worry about, but I don't think you'll have to worry about that anytime soon."_

_"I...I feel connected to it. I didn't feel this connection with the other staffs...is that part of the bond?"_

_"Yes, very good. Your life force and it's life force are one. It will weather any and all storms and will not be brought down by weather phenomena, but it can still be broken. Don't. Ever. Let. It. Get. Broken. I have heard of some surviving their staff breaking...but they're not the same after, and I have only ever heard of one who was able to repair it. He returned to his old self and even had a bit more power afterwards, but he never shared how he did it. However...I wasn't even born yet when that happened...neither were my parents so really...it's just an old Pitchiner legend..."_

_"Wait...survive?" I interrupted._

_"If it breaks...or someone breaks it where the bond was made...which is the middle of your staff...If your staff breaks you will die. The person who I mentioned that was able to mend it and live...it's just an old legend...Now, I know it sounds drastic, but that's how it is. I trust you will guard it with your life...because essentially...it is your life."_

_"I...I will. I promise I'll protect it."_

_"Oh!"_  Wendy screamed proudly as she circled around me and lifted me up into the air.  _"I'm so proud! My sweet boy has his staff!"_

Once she set me back down, I seemed to be more confused than ever.  _"Why is it such a big deal that I have my staff?"_ I laughed out as I landed. _"You never told me that."_

_"Getting your final staff means that you have excelled in your powers, magic, education, and how you carry yourself. Now...you get your final staff at thirteen, but only if you have become truly one with your magic and powers...full and complete control...then and only then...will you be able to create a bond with your staff. So...not only do you have your staff, but you have a bond with it."_

_"So...getting the staff...is like a coming of age thing?"_

_"Exactly!"_

_"And the bond...that's when I've fully and completely become one with my powers and magic so...but I thought...I thought I finished my training years ago."_

_"You did, but you continued to train yourself. That's the secret. You have to want to strive to learn more...and you've done that. Congratulations, my boy! You are now...well...if the Golden age still existed...you are now a full fledged prince, and no matter what may happen throughout your life or...even if you should become a spirit someday...you will always be the prince of the Galaxies...and again...that is if the Golden age still existed, or if any of the members from the old age held onto their titles in secret...but anyway, the bond on your staff is proof none the less, because it wouldn't have been able to happen unless you were a full fledged prince."_

"Stop! Prince!?" I turned to ask Bunny about it, but what I was met with shocked more than just me. North and Tooth stared wide eyed as well. Both Sandy and Bunny were kneeling with their hands across their chests, bowing their heads...to me. "I..." My breath and my words were caught in my throat. I was baffled, confused, concerned, and I felt guilty as well as apprehensive. My heart was pounding and I felt as if my brain was going to explode. This was unreal. Sandy and Bunny were the oldest out of all of us, older than Manny, and they were bowing to me. Once I was able to find my voice again I weakly asked, "W-What a-are y-you doing?"

"You're the crown prince of the Galaxies." Bunny answered in what seemed to be awe and realization at the same time.

"B-But...Pitch...he was...h-he was basically the king, right?"

"Yes."

"Then...but after...he betrayed everyone..."

"Sandy and I...we um...there's somethin' no one else knows. We fought along side Pitch during the Golden age, yes...but we were also part of the royal council. We helped judge and determine sentences. We mainly advised more than anythin' but if there was a moment where a livin' descendant of the crown was to be judged on his actions...it was to be decided by  _us_  if they were guilty...which meant they would lose their noble status and be disowned, or in Pitch's case...found guilty but later proven innocent we were the ones to judge if they were worthy of gainin' their noble status back. Obviously...Sandy and myself feel the same about Pitch's plight...he was genuine in everythin' he said about it...so to us...that means he is still the Lord High General of the Galaxies...but he's right. There's no golden age. Not anymore. However, the title still holds weight to Sandy and I...and you're his son...and you just became a full fledged prince."

"P-Please...please s-stand..." I begged, completely unnerved by their display. Once they both stood, they looked at me with heavy expressions. It seemed to be a mixture of awe, wonder, joy, patience, guilt, and...reverence.

"Prince Jack..." Bunny started.

"Don't..." I quickly interrupted. "P-Please...I'm...I'm still Jack. The Jack you know...I'm...I..."

"Ya can't stop us from believin' what we believe, mate." Sandy nodded his head in agreement. "Tell ya what...we won't bow to you...but ya can't expect us to let this go. You're not just  _A_  prince, Jack...you're  _THE_  prince. Prince of the Galaxies...that's includin' this one, you know...and well...since both Sandy and myself find Pitch's actions to be purely under the influence of nightmares and fearlings, and not his own actions...we're as much your council as we were his."

"I...you...you almost can't help it...can you?" I hadn't meant to sound arrogant, but the way Bunny was saying that I couldn't expect them to let it go, and the fact that they had somehow agreed during the end of mine and Pitch's conversation that he was innocent and I was their prince. It was like they were honor bound.

"We're honor bound." Bunny stated with a shy smile, confirming my suspicions.

"W-What about the Guardians!?" I shouted in disbelief. "Y-You can't be honor bound to me! You have your duties here...on earth!"

"That we do, Jack, and we'll continue to go about our duties just as we always had. Nothing changes in that regard, but if you have a need of us...all you have to do is ask. You won't be forcin' us to do anythin', don't misunderstand, please...when I say we are honor bound...I mean we've taken an oath to serve and protect the royal family...and you're a member of the royal family."

"S-So...I...to you...I'm...I'm your prince!?"

"Yes...you are."

"I...but I...you...you really can't let this go...can you?"

 _"No, we really can't."_  Sandy told me through his symbols.

 _'If they really can't help it...they're looking at me almost pleadingly...and I know it's them silently pleading me to allow them to have this...but I don't know everything yet...but they said they would be there if I needed anything...If I let them, I...I don't think it would change anything...but what if it does? Then again...they're my friends...Bunny...Aster...is my family. I don't think it will change anything if I let them...but it may change everything if I don't...'_  Once my mind was officially made up I cleared my throat, trying to steady myself, even though at the moment it seemed impossible. "I...I guess...if it's what you truly want...I'll accept it..." The Joy that came off them actually caused me to physically stagger back. "Th-there's just one thing..."

"What is it?" Bunny questioned with a more a relaxed appearance, and his expression seemed almost grateful.

"No bowing...none, whatsoever. It...it doesn't feel right. You're my friends, and Uncle Aster...you're my family. So, no bowing."

"We can certainly agree to that..." Bunny answered. "...but I'm afraid...you're gonna have to deal with us callin' you Prince Jack most of the time now. I teased and joked around with Pitch and called him names, but I mostly called him Prince or some title connected to him. Sandy on the other hand...will definitely be callin' you Prince Jack from now on."

"What...what about other spirits that don't know about this?"

"We'll just tell them it's a nickname the Guardians came up for ya. They'll believe that, because we've given plenty of nicknames. Even for..." Bunny's eyes seemed to grow incredibly wide. "Oh my...she is going to flip when she finds out!"

"Who?"

"Mother Nature!"

"Oh...right...I forgot she was Pitch's daughter..." I told them.

"You knew!?" Bunny asked.

"She told me back in the mid 1800's." I chuckled out. "Well...with that weird revelation...do we want to keep going?"

"Yes." Bunny and Sandy answered.

"Continue."

_"Prince!? I'm...a prince!?"_

_"Yes."_

_"How can that be if the Golden Age doesn't exist anymore?"_

_"Because I still live and you are my son." Pitch told me with a look of confident fatherly pride. "That's how." Pitch's smile softened quite a bit as he looked at my staff. "If your Uncle were here to see this...he would've been so proud of you."_

_"Hmm...you told me that when you turned into the Boogeyman...you hurt Uncle Aster. You said that you hurt him a way that's unforgivable."_

_"Yes, I did..." Pitch stated remorsefully. "...what's your point?"_

_"Well, it sounds like you're still holding onto a shred of hope...that someday you can be forgiven."_

_"Hmm...perhaps I am."_

_"Well...I find that ironic."_ I laughed out as I leaned against my staff in a familiar manner as a mischievous smirk crossed my face.

_"Oh? And why is that?"_

_"Because he just so happens to be the Guardian of Hope."_

_"Wh-? I mean...just...what? How did you...I mean...you couldn't have..."_

_"Wow, I haven't seen you this flustered since Mother asked you if she could take your last name."_ I let out a series of giggles and chuckles before calming down again. _"It wasn't that hard to figure out. Now, granted, I figured it out last year, but still...you used to always tell me about my older sister, who just so happens to be Mother Nature, which by the way...no pressure huh!? Anyway, if you weren't talking about her, you would talk about Uncle Aster. You would always say that he was a good, brave, true, honorable, strong, patient, mischievous, caring, and always so full of Hope. The last one got me curious so I started paying closer attention. You told me everything you've done as the Boogeyman...even to that Katherine girl, but the two things you never fully talked about were what you had done to the Pooka, and what you had done to Uncle Aster that was so horrible. So I put a few things together, and figure that my Uncle is not only the last living Pooka, but that he is the Guardian of Hope...the Easter Bunny."_

_"You and your discoveries!" Pitch groaned out. "Yes...your Uncle Aster is also the Easter Bunny."_

_"Yeah...it also doesn't help when most of his name spells out Easter Bunny."_

_"Hmm? How do you mean?"_

_"Let me show you."_ I then took my staff and started writing on the grass, elegant frost forming on the ground, forming letters until it spelled E. Aster Bunnymund. _"You see this don't you?"_

_"Yes, it's his name...what of it?"_

_"Well, if you take off the dot after the 'E' and you move the 'E' next to the A..."_ I started rewriting in frost on the ground with my tongue sticking out to one side as I focused using my staff. _"...and then if you take off the last four letters of his last name...Then you have Easter Bunny."_

 _"That..."_ Pitch's eyes widened incredibly and suddenly he doubled over laughing.  _"...I feel like a fool for never realizing it this entire time...but you're right!"_

_"So...I take it...I'm the only one who noticed this?"_

_"Oh, I'm sure your Uncle Aster has by now...but the reason he was called the Easter Bunny, was because a group of children saw him on Easter hiding eggs. So, because of the day, what he did, and what he looked like. They started calling him the Easter Bunny. It used to be that he would either go by Bunnymund or Bunny...most in the spirit world call him Bunny...but mortals don't usually call him that."_

_"The spirit world..."_  I trailed off thoughtfully.  _"...the plane that is thinly layered on top of the mortal plane...how is it that I'm able to see other spirits and hear them...if I was born human?"_

_"Because, Jack...you were born a very special and unique human, and I will be eternally grateful to the woman who abandoned you. She unwittingly gave me the embodiment of Joy and in doing so gave me a wonderful family. You know...I'm still surprised to this day, that when we told you about who your biological parents were, and everything about who I once was...you were so accepting of it...and even went so far as to go a whole night without sleep that night...giving me some of the dream sand that was meant for you."_

_"Yes, well...I remember Mother scolding me the next day for not getting any sleep."_

_"But you made it up to her by caging all of the butterflies in three different caverns...and then letting them go on the surface. Honestly, the two of you..."_  He chuckled warmly.  _"...I will say this though, it was a beautiful sight. You and Wendy playing with the butterflies together..."_

_"Yes, and then the next time I put dream sand over you, you were dreaming about it."_

_"And likely always will. It was quite the sight indeed."_


	5. Chapter 5

_"Come on, Sarah!"_  I laughed out as I carried my staff into the forest.

 _"Jack! Wait up!"_  She giggled as she chased after me.

"Stop!" I steadied myself and looked at Tooth. "And motion...we're running...and the scene is moving..."

"Yeah...some scenes do that...sorry sweet tooth..."

"It's fine...Continue."

_"Oh, come on you slow poke!"_

_"It's not my fault! You have longer legs than any child in the whole village!"_

_"It's because I'm the OLDEST child in the whole village!"_

_"You're only thirteen!"_

_"And?"_

_"There's someone who is seventeen."_ She mentioned as she continued to chase me through the woods.

 _"I'd hardly call that a child, now come on!"_ We ran some more, but then I abruptly stopped as I looked at something and my eyes widened. I quickly turned around to face Sarah with a panicked expression.  _"Sarah! Go back! Now!"_

_"Jack? What's wrong!?"_

_"Back! Now! Go home! There's a bear! Go now! Don't look back, no matter what!"_  Suddenly, there was a loud and threatening roar coming from just behind me. I turned around and there was indeed a bear, and current me is wondering how I didn't see it, but then I just chalk it up to something that the past me learned how to do.

_"O-Okay! Be careful Jack!"_

_"I will! I'm going to lead it away from the village!"_ There was foam coming from the bears mouth, and next to current me, I could feel Bunny's hand on my shoulder gripping tight with worry. I turned away from the vision slightly to see his expression and I found a heart wrenching mixture of fear, panic, and worry. I quickly turned back to the scene and noticed that I was dodging the bear's attacks and looking back. I looked to see where my own gaze was going, and noticed that Sarah had just made it out of sight.  _"Alright, you want to play? Let's play!"_  I laughed out darkly, but then it swiped at me, and caused a scratch to form on my right arm.  _"Mother, care to help?"_  I questioned angrily.

 _"With pleasure!"_  She growled out angrily and lifted me up into the air, allowing me to fly, and I had the same amount of control that I usually do when I fly now. I hit the bear on the top of the head to get it's attention, and started to lead it further into the forest. Once I got it to chase me far enough away from the village, I flew down to the ground and slammed the bottom of my staff on the ground, freezing the ground beneath me, I then took my staff in both my hands, and turned it, causing the ice to creep up the bears legs. After that I shot five ice shards out of my staff, and quickly ended the bear.

"Stop!" I shouted in surprise.

"Mate...you didn't tell us ya could do that." Bunny rose a brow at me, and the others gave me around the same look as well.

"Hey, don't look at me! I didn't know I could do that either! I'm thirteen here...but as a three hundred year old spirit...I hadn't figured out any of that. I'm still learning as a spirit...I didn't even know I could write with my staff!"

"It's alright Pri-..."

"Uncle Aster, if you're about to call me 'Prince Jack'...please don't. I really don't want either of you calling me that. I know I said I would put up with it in a way...but...I'm me..."

"Then what would ya like to be called?"

"You mean I actually have a choice? But you said..."

"I know what I said, but all in all...I can't tell ya what to do."

"Well...even with all of this...I do know I have to acknowledge the whole prince thing...so I'll accept that. It sounds kind of nice, but my friends...Sandy, Tooth, North, and Mother Nature...and my family...You, Mother, and...and...Fa-Father...I don't want you all addressing me as a prince or bowing down. Acknowledgment is fine...like saying I'm a prince...but no bowing and no calling me 'Prince Jack'...I can...compromise and say that  _SOMETIMES_  you can call me nicknames with the word prince next to it, but..."

"Like...Little Prince?" He asked me with a smirk.

"Yeah...that should be fine...Uncle Aster, why are you laughing?"

"Because..." He doubled over, laughing in further. "...Oh you are most definitely his son! I...I used to..." He stood up straighter and placed a paw over his chest, seemingly trying to catch his breath while still laughing. "Pitch and I had this very same argument, and I pulled the same prank on him that I pulled on you. Afterwards, I started calling him Little Prince."

"Wait...prank?"

"Yes...calling you Prince Jack was the prank...the bowing, however, was most certainly  _NOT_  a prank. Sandy went along with it beautifully."

Sandy smirked at me and Bunny both. "I couldn't help it. We discussed it while you were focused on a memory. I love a good prank, and you're usually the expert on pranks, we both thought that you wouldn't notice when one was placed on you...and we were RIGHT! In truth, Jack, Pitch never liked the idea of being called Lord or prince or king...so everyone just called him Kozmotis Pitchiner, with the exception that his wife was to be known as Lady Pitchiner. His daughter didn't take on any titles either, despite the whole family being the most important royal family at the time. So, we all repsected his wishes, but Aster teased him mercilessly for the prank. Eventually, when Pitch got older he stopped, but it was indeed hilarious. Afterwards, Pitch had a good laugh as well."

"So...you're not going to constantly call me Prince Jack or use any titles?"

"No, not if you don't want me to." I could see the honesty and joy in his eyes. "I promise."

"Wait...so...how...I'm so confused."

"You, Jack, are the son of Wendy and Kozmotis Pitchiner. That makes you a first born prince just like Mother Nature is the first born princess, adopted or not, that's who ya are. That staff you're holdin' makes ya a  _full fledged prince_. You are...indeed a prince, but you can  _choose_  to be called one or not. You can  _choose_  to be bowed to or not. What you  _cannot_  choose, however, is that we don't acknowledge ya as OUR prince. We will treat ya as such. Now, don't misunderstand, there will be no pamperin' and no suckin' up, but we will be there should ya ever need us, and we will fight along side you for whatever battle you face."

"So...calling me prince Jack...was a prank?"

"Yes, I knew ya wouldn't like it, ya drongo. I know ya better than that by now."

"Thank you..." I breathed out in the form of a relieved sigh.

"Not a problem...now...about callin' me Uncle...?"

"Still gonna do that...but I may throw a few cottontails and long ears jokes. Oh...the amount of jokes I can put in now!"

"We'll see about that...Little Prince." He smiled at me.

I turned around to face Tooth and North. "Are you alright? I mean...with all of this...it's a bit more than a little strange..."

"Jack, Bunny and Sandy would tell us stories about the golden age. They may not be able to express it in so many words, but it means a lot to them that you are who you are. Besides...you're not the only royalty in the room." Tooth smirked at me as she crossed her arms.

My jaw dropped as I pieced together what she was saying. "Y-You!?"

"Queen Toothiana of the Tooth Fairy Army...at your service, Prince Jackson Overland Frost." She beamed at me, and so did North.

"T-Tooth Fairy ARMY!?"

"Yes, at one time..."

"There's a story there that I don't think we have time for..." I mentioned. "...will you tell me some time after?" I questioned with what I knew were pleading eyes, but I couldn't help it.

"I would love too, sweet tooth."

"Good...and I gather...you don't like titles much either..."

"No, not really. It's been centuries since I was called that, and I've been fully content to be called Tooth, Tooth Fairy, Toothiana, or by North...Toothy."

"At least someone can relate."

"Yeah, it's nice."

"Ahem!" Bunny cleared his throat with a smile. "I do think we are forgetting about North." He smirked and I nearly let go of my staff.

"NORTH, YOU TOO!?" I shouted, not sure I could take much more information.

"Oh! I will make new fur coat out of you, Bunny!"

I stepped confidently in front of Bunny, and held my staff at an angle in front of him, giving my most mischievous smirk. "You can try."

"HA! Oh! You would've made excellent bandit in my time! Very well...I was king of bandits."

"Like...a small group of bandits or..."

"Every group of bandits knew me. I was king of bandits."

"What North is tryin' to tell ya, is that he was the bandit king. Mostly in Europe, but yeah. However, he  _WAS_  the best in all of Europe."

"Oh my God...that's how you're able to get in and out of houses!"

"Yes...and is in past." He gave a glare to Bunny which only made me even more curious. "Will also explain after everything is seen."

"Oh, I can't wait for story time after this!" I laughed out. "Continue."

I looked at the bear with a pitying look.  _"It's sad..."_

_"I know, sweetie...but everything has it's time. He just..."_

_"He was rabid, Mother..."_

_"I know, baby...I know..."_  She told me as she wrapped herself around me. "What's important is that you saved your sister."

_"You know...she's not actually my sister..."_

_"As good as with how you've treated her. We told you it was alright."_

_"She's just six years old...and she's so advanced. She's the size of an eight year old...she's getting so big..."_

_"Yes, and that's what happens. Children grow up, love."_

_"I know, but I remember holding her. She was so light and fragile."_

_"You were too at one point. You had to be less than six pounds."_

_"Where does the time go, Mother?"_  I sighed out.

 _"You know...I hear it goes in a bottle."_  She giggled as she playfully blew my hair around.

 _"Ha Ha...very funny."_  I rolled my eyes. I then looked at the scratch and it was already healing. In fact, it was almost closed.  _"I don't think I'll ever be normal."_

_"No...you'll be extraordinary, darling."_

_"Thanks Mother. I better get back to her...she'll be worried."_

_"So you want me to fly to the edge of the forest?"_

_"No, just in case she brings the others to try and save me."_

_"Intelligent move."_

Once I made it to the edge of the woods, I was apparently right, and two men were coming with torches.  _"Mother..."_  I whispered.  _"Can you melt the ice and dry the bear somehow?"_

 _"Going now."_  She whispered back as she left me.

 _"Jack!"_  One of the men shouted.  _"Sarah told us there was a bear!"_

_"There was...I killed it. It was rabid."_

_"Come, show us!"_  Once I took them to the dead bear, Wendy had apparently done what I had asked. There was no sign of ice or even water. There were however, thin blood-tipped branches inside the bear.  _"Good job, Jack!"_

_"Yes, you saved your sister, and defended the village as well as the other animals of the forest! You'll be a strong hunter someday."_

_"Heh, no thanks...I don't like killing animals. I'm happier being a shepherd."_

_"That's up to you. Wow...this will make some fine clothing."_

_"Say! Derek, I have an idea! How about we give the pelt to the seamstress to make Jack his own over coat. She'll be able to have it ready before his birthday."_

_"Excellent idea, Samuel!"_

The scene changed and it started just like it did last time. As I watched it start, my heart constricted in my chest, because now they are all going to know how I became a spirit, and I honestly don't know how Bunny will take it after finding out that I'm basically his nephew.  _"Be careful!"_  Sarah's mother called out.

 _"We will!"_  I laughed out as Sarah tugged me out the door. When we made it to the edge of the pond with our new skates I noticed Pitch standing near the pond, in the dark shadow of a tree.

 _"This will be the first time I see you skate, Jack."_  He told me with a bright smile, and I merely returned it without looking, seeming to know that if I said anything it would likely backfire.

 _"Alright, let's get your skates on, Sarah. Sit here."_  She did as I asked and as soon as I got her skate on she rushed out to the middle of the pond.  _"No, Sarah! Wait!"_  I ran after her on the pond, not putting on my skates. Then, I heard the crack of the ice under both of us. I stopped, and so did she, but from the force of the crack and my stop, my staff was knocked out of my hand. I looked at her and tried to calm my breathing, and somehow, I could tell I was trying to keep my powers in.  _"It's okay It's okay...Don't look down...just look at me."_ I told her calmly as I looked underneath her, and then to her eyes.

 _"Jack...I'm scared..."_ She cried out in fear, and off to the side, I could tell that Pitch was worried too.

 _"I...I know...I know..."_ I told her with my hands motioning for her to calm down. _"...But you're going to be alright. you're not gonna fall in. Uh...We're gonna have a little fun instead!"_

_"No we're not!"_

_"Would I trick you?"_

_"Yes! You always play tricks!"_

_"Well..."_ I laughed out nervously, trying to make myself feel better as well. _"Alright...well...Well not this time. I promise...I promise you're gonna be...you're gonna be fine. You have to believe in me..."_  Everyone watching the memory gasped around me at my words, but I was not going to stop this memory. I wanted it over with. _"You wanna play a game?"_ I suggested, trying to make my voice sound cheerier than I felt. _"We're gonna play hopscotch. Like we play everyday. I-It's as easy as uh...one..." "Whoa...Two..."_ I jumped over to my staff. _"THREE!"_ I picked it up and steadied it in my hands ready to help her. _"Alright...now it's your turn. One..."_  When her feet shifted on the ice, it began to crack some more. _"That's it that's it...Two...THREE!"_  As I saw that the ice was cracking even further, I rushed the crook of my staff forward to pull her away and we ended up trading places. Thinking I was okay, I started to get up and laugh, but then the ice broke beneath me, and I fell through.

 _"JACK!"_  The first time I witnessed the memory, I only heard Sarah shout my name, but this time I heard Sarah, Wendy, and Pitch shout my name in desperation and fear. We all watched as I continued to drown. The air left my lungs, the color left my body, and my heart stopped.

After I hit the bottom of the pond, a moonbeam shined on me, changing the color of my hair before lifting me out of the ice. Then, when I opened my eyes as I took a deep breath, my eyes were an ice blue.  _ **"I am the Man in the Moon. I have pulled you out of the pond. Your name is Jack Frost. I have also given you the power of flight. You will not need to rely on the wind alone. You can fly freely. Good luck, Jack Frost."**_ Manny told me before setting me back down.

"Stop." I told the vision sadly. I looked to see Sandy, Tooth, and North crying as they stared at the memory version of me. They then turned to me, but at that same moment, I turned around to look at Bunny. The sight of him broke my heart. Tears were streaming down his face like a waterfall, his eyes were a much brighter green than before due to the crying. He was crouched low on his haunches as he stared at the memory with his ears nearly non-existent with how flat they went against his head. "Uncle Aster...?"

"N-No...no no no...NO! That...th-that c-can't be right! Y-Ya didn't...ya couldn't have...J-Jack...no...no no no no..."

"Uncle Aster!" I shouted, still enjoying the fact that I could call him uncle, but the reasons for having to use it right now were continuously breaking my heart. Once he looked at me his breath became shaky.

"J-Jack...you...ya d-died!"

"Yes, and I'm here now." I took his paw and placed it hard against my chest. "I have a heart beat and everything." After about six beats of my heart, Bunny immediately sunk lower placing the other paw over his eyes and sobbed while I continued to hold his paw against my heart. Once he calmed down, I tried again. "Uncle Aster?"

Without warning I was pulled into a tight furry hug. "Jack...I...I can't ever see you die...I just...I can't. I...I need to ask ya somethin' important..."

"Cottontail...everything has its time..." I tried to sooth him, but failed because he flinched.

"I know that, and I'm glad ya used a nickname. Thought I was never gonna hear a nickname again...and I know everythin's got it's time...just let me ask it, okay?"

"What is it?"

"Will you...will you let me vow to watch over you...to guard you with my life your hopes, your wishes, and your dreams along with the other children of the world?"

"We want to ask you if you'll let us do the same..." Tooth said from behind me.

"I...yes...I will..." I told them, not able to tell them no at the moment.

"Well then..." North started as Bunny began letting me go with tears still in his eyes. "Congratulations, Jack Frost, for you are now and forever more...guarded by the Guardians."

It took about a good ten minutes for everyone to calm down and wipe their tears. Once everyone was settled, I was about to ask if would could continue, but then I heard Manny begin to speak.  ** _"Jack Frost and fellow Guardians...this time there will be two advantages given. I had done the same for Bunny just because of his long life, but I will do so for Jack as well due to situations. The advantages that will be given will be that you will all be able to hear the inner battle Pitch struggled with. You will hear him trapped inside his own mind...fighting, begging, clawing, and screaming at the fearling and nightmares. That is the advantage, and I am sorry, Jack...I couldn't let you go back to him after I rose you from the pond. He was completely distraught when you died. Not even Wendy was able to comfort him, and in his loss..."_**

"The nightmares took him..."

_**"Yes, but you will hear him this time, and for that...I am sorry, but I believe it to be necessary."** _

"It's okay...I may not have understood for three hundred years, but I figure you thought it was best...alright..."

_**"The second advantage is that you will also be able to witness memories that happened while you were asleep. Basically, if someone was near you and they saw or did something that involved you in the smallest ways, you will be able to see it."** _

Once I was completely set down I started walking on the ice, slipping slightly, then my toe touched my staff, frosting it in the middle, and it seemed Pitch was right, because this is where I had lost a piece of myself...because I died and was reborn with no memories. I picked up the staff and looked at the frost on it when suddenly ice shot out from the bottom of it and decorated the ice on the pond.  _'Did I...?'_  It was weird to hear my own thoughts, and the others could hear it now too.  _'I wonder...'_  I thought as I walked over to two trees. I tapped one with the crook of the staff, sending a beautiful frost pattern spreading on the tree.  _'It feels...like it's coming from me...AND the staff.'_  I then touched it to the next tree and looked at the staff with pure excitement and joy.  _'IT IS COMING FROM ME AND THE STAFF!'_ I then began running along the pond spreading frost everywhere until I was practically dancing in circles. Then, I was lifted up into the air.

 _"Oh my! You're here! You're here! Jack you're...I have to go tell him!"_  Wendy left left as suddenly as she came and practically dropped me into a tree.

 _'Well...that was some welcome!'_  I thought with a laugh.  _'Who was she talking about...was that the wind...?'_  Then I got a glimpse of the village below.  _'I want to go...the Man in the Moon said I could fly...'_ When I got there we all watched me try and greet people and get walked through constantly, before I walked away with a saddened and confused expression.

Once I made it back to the pond I heard voices so I walked a bit faster.  _"I told you! He's here! I just saw him!"_

_"Wendy...I'm barely hanging on...please..."_

_"Look! There he is!"_  She shouted before wrapping herself around me.

I looked out to see Pitch standing there with silver eyes, but there were hints of gold in them too, indicating that he really was barely holding on. He looked at me with wide eyes and seemingly breathless.  _"Um...hello?"_

 _"J-Jack?"_  He breathed out with a smile that dared to hope.  _ **'You can't seriously believe that's Jack can you!? Oh yes...it's the same body and voice, but did you notice his eyes and hair? No? What about the staff?**_ ' The whispers taunted sickeningly.

_"How do you know my name? Wait...you can see me!?"_

_"Yes, of course I can see you I..."_  He started, but then so did the whispers.  ** _'The man in the moon really did pull him out of the water, but it seems he has severe amnesia.'_  **The whispers laughed and cackled cruelly.  ** _'You've lost him. The only thing that kept us away.'_**  Pitch shook his head trying to shake away the voices.  _"I...am a spirit like you."_  He decided to say.  _"Tell me...how old do you think you are?"_

 _"Well..."_  I looked down at myself and shrugged.  _"Physically fourteen, but the Man in the Moon brought me out of the pond today so...today old?"_

 _'No...'_  Pitch thought with his own mind.  _'...because he died...and was brought back...he doesn't remember anything...'_  Pitch started to try and say something again, but the whispers started at the same time his eyes started to change to gold.  _ **'Oh and how marvelous! You've lost your son, Kozmotis! It's as if he's died twice! You'll never get him back! He's gone to you forever! Oh...and what's this? The last of your heart? Oh...a little further and...what do we have here...hope? Nah...you don't need that do you? Thought not!**_ ' Pitch's demeanor slowly changed and it became wicked.  _'No! Don't hurt him!'_  He begged on the inside.  ** _"So...today old huh? Did the Man in the Moon tell you about me?"_**

_"No, should he have?"_

**_"Well, I suppose it may have slipped his mind, but that's just fine. My name is Pitch Black. I'm the Boogeyman. I spread fear, nightmares, and darkness...and I'm gonna take a guess that you're not seen."_ **

_"That's right...wait...did the wind go to get you?"_

_"I am so sorry Jack...I thought...I thought he would've reacted differently. I can't tell you anything now...I'm sorry...just know that I will always be here with you, and you can call me Wind or Wendy if you like..."_  Wendy's voice was so sorrowful, it nearly had the current me in tears, now that I knew everything.

**_"Oh, don't listen to her. She knew this was coming. Now...the reason why they walk through you is the same reason they walk through me! You see...to them, we don't exist. To them we are not believed in."_ **

_"Believed in?"_

**_"Oh, you really are like a new born babe, but with all the benefits of walking, talking, flying, powers, and other things adults can do. Well, you see, Jack it's like this...They have to believe in you like they do Santa or the Easter Bunny..."_ **

_"Santa? Easter Bunny?"_

**_"Oh this is too good!"_  Pitch** shouted, but on the inside he was screaming,  _'No! Stop! Please!'_  Pitch then seemed to take a thoughtful moment.  ** _"Very well..."_**  He said more to the Pitch on the inside. ** _"...you will find out eventually. Now, I have some fear to give, belief to get back, and you have a miserable existence to continue for all eternity. Bye bye now."_**


	6. Chapter 6

_"Back all of you!?"_  I heard a woman shouting and to the current me it sounded familiar, but to past me it was entirely new and a cry for help. I dove out of the sky into a thick forested area somewhere in Ireland. Once I got closer I could see creatures. Shadows that took on the form of living animals but shadows none the less with yellow eyes. Not only that, but there were other strange creatures with them. At least eight feet tall, lanky, ugly, pale, sharp teeth, even sharper claws, and red eyes. Once I got even closer, I saw a woman wearing a long beautiful green dress and she had wavy black hair.

"Mother Nature!?" Bunny called out from behind current me, and I couldn't help but laugh. "And a Wendigo!?"

I allowed the scene to continue, knowing it was going to be more than fine. I was just impressed by the time jump. It was the mid 1800's. Anyway, I watched myself dive down to the ground and stood with my back against her.  _"Who are you!?"_

_"Jack Frost! Nice to meet you, but I think maybe we can introduce ourselves after we get rid of...whatever these things are."_

_"Wendigo and Shadows. The Wendigo smelled blood..."_  Mother Nature used a vine to whip at one of the shadows.  _"...so it came running..."_  She kicked at the Wendigo.  _"...the shadows however..."_  She stomped her foot and the ground quaked slightly, but neither of us were phased, unlike the Wendigo and shadows.  _"...are the ones that caused the blood. I got a girl to safety! The shadows came from Pitch Black..."_  She placed a palm on a tree and pulled out a staff of her own. It was a little like mine in the fact it almost resembled a shepherd's staff, but in the middle of the crook was the carving of a tree.

 _"Pitch Black huh? Well then...I hope you don't mind if I cut in to your little dance!"_  I laughed out, and it caused her to smile mischievously. I couldn't see it then, but seeing it now was amazing.

 _"Cut in? Well..."_  She laughed out mischievously with excitement shining in her eyes.  _"...I'm afraid I would have to ask you to dance with me...back to back and side to side. What do ya say?"_

 _"It would be my pleasure, my lady."_  I grinned wickedly as we began shooting our own elements at the shadows and Wendigo. If I were to be honest, this was the most epic fight I had ever seen. It was one thing to experience it from my end, it was another thing entirely to see just how it looked, and we looked like we knew each other for decades with how we fought along side each other, and considering I now know she's my sister, it made the battle even more epic. She continued to command the vines while shooting green electricity out of her staff when we were back to back, and when we were side to side she would use it to hit and cause miniature earth quakes on the ground while I...when we were back to back, did similar movements by shooting electric ice out of my staff, kicking, and hitting when I could, and when we were side to side I would send Ice underneath their feet just before she would cause an earth quake. In almost no time we had defeated the shadows and all that was left was the Wendigo.  _"I get him high, you get him low?"_

 _"I like the way you think!"_  She laughed out, and then we immediately went into position. I froze his shoulders solid so he couldn't move his arms up and down, then I froze his arms to his sides. After that I frosted his eyes over so much, he couldn't open them. Meanwhile, Mother Nature called forth vines to wrap around and puncture his legs, causing them to violently bleed. Then, she shot the green electric energy at his core at the same time I had frosted his eyes. After that, he toppled over, and was very obviously dead as he started to disintegrate into ash. Once we both caught her breath she tapped her staff to the ground and the earth sucked it up. She then turned to face me with a surprised and approving grin.  _"Well then! No one has ever been able to keep up with me before! You were my equal at my side!"_

"Stop." I laughed out as I heard the stuttering voices coming from all of them. "Yes?" I questioned with a wide smile.

"Mother Nature called you her equal in battle!" Tooth gaped at me. "...and she's certainly not one to give out compliments...and what we just saw...!"

"You two fought like true warriors...comrades." North stated as his eyes were still staring at me and Mother Nature.

"What about you..." I turned around and saw Bunny completely slack jawed and wide eyes. "...Uncle Aster?"

"Mate...I think I just watched history repeat itself... _flawlessly_."

"What do you mean?" I asked with a furrowed brow.

"I mean...that's exactly how Pitch and I used to fight alongside each other. We would even use the same damn joke about cuttin' in like it was a dance, and one of us would say the same thing Mother Nature said to you! It was  _EXACTLY THE SAME!_ "

"Wow...are you serious?"

"Deadly serious, Jack. The only differences are that this is earth, you're a teenager winter spirit, she's a female nature spirit, and the two of ya have no  _freakin'_  clue that you're  _RELATED!_  And the  _FACT_  that the two of you  _are_  related and you could fight along side each other so  _flawlessly_  without having  _met_  each other...it was more than a little impressive. It was  _astoundin'!"_

"Wow...I had no idea."

"I bet not." He laughed out. "Wanna keep goin' and show us more?"

"Yeah, let's continue."

_"Equals huh? I take it that's not something easily achieved."_

_"No, it most certainly isn't. Now, I do believed we promised each other introductions."_

_"Right, as I said before. My name is Jack Frost. I...was made a spirit in the early 1700's by the Man in the Moon, he gave me my name, and I'm assuming my powers."_

_"Oh...you sweet thing...you..."_  Now that I clearly see the look on her face, she knew that's not how it worked, but never told me.

_"What?"_

_"Nothing, it's...sweet that Manny gave you a name."_

I snorted out a laugh.  _"Manny?"_

_"Yes, that's the nickname we spirits give him. Tell me...did he tell you anything else?"_

_"You mean he could tell me more?"_

_"Well, yes...unless...well...he may have a reason for not telling you anything. Anyway, off topic. I am known as Mother Nature to every spirit and most humans...but you can call me Emily if you like."_

_"Emily...that's a beautiful name...but why give me that honor if all of the other spirits don't get to call you that?"_

_"Honestly, I don't know...there's something about you. It feels like we have a deep unknown and rooted connection somehow. Like...like when we were in battle it was like we were fighting along side each other as siblings."_  She smiled at me, leaving current me rolling my eyes thinking,  _'Which, now that I personally know what I know, that statement makes way much more sense now.'_ She then seemed to take notice of my ripped clothing and blood stained shirt.  _"Come, I'll take you to my domain and we'll get you cleaned up, Little Brother."_

 _"Little Brother?"_  I smirked at her and she smiled softly as she nodded her head.

_"Like I said...a deep connection. You're my equal in battle, and the way we fought was...special. If you do not like it I can simply call you Jack."_

_"No! I...I like it."_

_"Good!"_  She said with a wide and pleased smile.  _"Now..."_  She waved her hand and a portal with green and yellow colors swirling together appeared. She held out her hand to me, and I took it. Once we walked through everything shifted. Suddenly, we were in a lush green forest that had every kind of plant you could name and even some that were blooming out of season. However, the nature part of it wasn't the most impressive thing about it. It was the castle covered in creeping vines that caught my attention.  _"Come on."_  There was a blink and I was suddenly lying on a bed in a room that was painted in such a way that it seemed as if we were still surrounded by nature.  _"I have some dream sand here. It'll help you sleep. Courtesy of Sandy."_

_"Oh, the sandman...Yeah we know each other. When I'm sad and he's passing over my pond, he sometimes sends me a dream sand strand so I can play with it."_

_"Interesting."_  She smiled.  _"Well, then..."_  She sprinkled it on my face, and snowflakes floated above my head as my head hit the pillow and my eyes closed. Once she seemed to be sure that I was asleep she then looked at my staff.  _"Now...why do you have a similar type of energy to my staff...?"_  She grabbed the middle of my staff, and we were all thrown into the memories again, but they moved like they did when I looked into my memory box the first time. We saw some of the same memories repeat themselves, and some new ones. The newer ones involved lots of mischievous pranks, but before those, they involved a lot of Pitch being a caring and loving father to me as he fed me, bathed me, clothed me, and trained me. It showed everything and included our voices, so she heard me call him Papa and later he referred himself as such when I fell in the pond in the cavern. She saw everything in order from the very beginning of my birth and it seemed as if it was taking years to go through, but it was somehow clear to us that she was gaining all of the information at once. She even saw how I was made a spirit. Then, the memories seemed to be sucked away, and she staggered back against the wall, losing grip on the staff, and gasping for breath. She looked at the staff and then to my sleeping form.  _"You...You returned his humanity the moment you held your hand out to him."_  Tears fell from her eyes as she held a hand to her mouth. Soon, a smile formed followed by a laugh that was a combination of disbelief, wonder, and joy as she looked back at the staff and then to me once more.  _"Little Brother indeed...and Manny won't even let you know it...Manny isn't just protecting you...he's protecting everyone by doing this...if you only knew...but you don't...so you can't...and I know...and I've seen...and I've heard..."_ Her eyes widened a bit as a new smile of amusement grew on her lips. _"Wendy Pitchiner huh? Well, at least she made both of them happy...and it seems Jack...that you have more power than you think. After all, you now have Wendy..."_

_"Yes, he has me. Thank you for tending to him..."_

_"Oh, it's so good to hear from you again...Step Mother..."_ Emily grinned mischievously as she began to let out small chuckles.

_"S-Step...you found out? How!? He doesn't have any memories of his old life!"_

_"Ah, but the staff that named him crown prince does. It holds his blood, therefore everything he was, is, and eventually will be. There's a rule among the once noble family Pitchiner...you are never to touch another's staff. If you do, you will witness EVERYTHING up to the point you touched it. I only witnessed him being named by Manny and I forced myself out...but yeah...huge invasion of privacy."_

_"I-I'm s-sorry, Mother Nature."_

_"Oh, please...you might as well call me Emily. You made my father happy, and you treated Jack with all the love in the world. More love than my own mother mustered that's for sure. If she couldn't handle a tantrum or the outbursts my powers would have, she would give me to Father."_

_"I...you're not mad?"_

_"No, why would I be mad? What I saw...that was a true family and true familial love. Besides, Jack gave him back his humanity. With a simple hand gesture as an infant. His eyes were both silver and gold in that memory...when Jack held onto his hand with his newborn hand, all of the gold immediately faded. It was an incredible thing to see."_ Mother Nature looked over to me as the snowflakes started turning into dolphins playing in water.  _"Besides...I've always wanted a little brother, and now it seems I will be re-training him. At least as far as I can. I should be able to have him nearly re-trained within a decade, but everything else...he will have to figure out on his own. He will have to be on his own for many many years until he's allowed to know once more."_

_"When do you think that would be?"_

_"I don't know, but I hope it doesn't involve becoming a Guardian...because from what I saw...he has every bit as much potential as Aster."_

_"Why would it be a bad thing for him to become a Guardian?"_

_"Because...that would mean that the once loving and caring Father...and the once Understanding and Joyful son would have to fight until one is defeated. Trust me...from experience...it's awful."_

_"Well...I think it'll work out well if he does."_

_"Oh? What makes you think that?"_

_"I know my son. He'll be able to handle it. It will be difficult, but I think he'll be able to handle it."_

_"I've learned the hard way to trust a parent's instincts. I'll trust you. However, if the Guardians and Pitch end up in another battle, I will not be part of it."_

_"I can't blame you for that...but I will be with him."_

_"Thank you, and I know you don't have to...but every now and then...after his ten year training...could you tell me how Jack is doing?"_

_"Yes, I would love to, Emily."_

_"Thank you, Wendy."_

The scene changed and it showed me next to a waterfall in Scotland, and from what was in Mother Nature's hand, it was 1871.  _"No! I don't want it!"_

_"Jack Frost you get down here!"_

_"No! That stuff is disgusting and slimy!" I shouted back as I flew above her._

_"Don't make me force you to get down here."_

_"Oh, a game is it, dear sister?"_  I grinned mischievously as I shot a small electric ice beam next to her on the ground.  _"You know how much I love our games!"_

_"Jack, I have to put this on you! And you just woke up from the battle, you are in no condition to be playing games!"_

_"It's not my fault that Inferna wanted to burn North America! Why should I suffer?"_

_"Because, you already took care of her before the wildfire got out of control...and you buried the entire forest in snow. Snow that I had to melt extremely quickly mind you! However, you got burned...BADLY. She's suffering enough why she sits in a cell with her powers stripped away. Now, get down here!"_

_"Fine!"_  I rolled my eyes as I floated down.

"Hold it, mate."

"Stop." I told the vision and turned to face Bunny. "What is it?"

"Nothing really, it's just...that jar she's holdin' there...I had wondered where it had gone. It was mine. I made the salve myself. It was supposed to help cure third degree burns in under three days. I got into a bit of a tuff with some summer spirits a long time ago, and thought it would be good to have some handy...then it disappeared. Three weeks later it turned back up again like it never left. Just how bad was your fight with Infirna?"

"She wanted to scorch North America, starting in Wisconsin...it happened at the same time as another wildfire...but this was the one I came across first...and with high winds...it was building. I saw what it was doing to the children and the animals, and I couldn't let that happen. So, I told Wendy...erm...Mother...to tell Emily what I was doing. About half an hour later not only did she approve, but she came to help. While I fought off Infirna, she brought rain to the fire. However, because of how bad the fight got, and I mean...we're talking blood and Infirna getting broken bones...in the middle of the fight, I had caused a small blizzard. It was late autumn, so it didn't go to amiss, but she did end up with frostbite. Once she crash landed to the ground, Emily picked her up, stripped her powers and put her in a containing cell built for rogue spirits who wish to do harm. Think of it as her own personal prison. Then...after she was put int the cell...I passed out from my injuries. I was bleeding and I was burned...badly. I'm pretty sure you'll see just how bad, but yeah."

I watched as Bunny's ears flattened against the back of his head, and a look of guilt crossed his face. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"Don't be. You have nothing to be sorry for."

"Jack...I should've been there...we all should've..."

"But you weren't." I nearly snapped, and noticed that they all flinched so I calmed myself down. "None of you wanted anything to do with me...but you're here now, and if I don't give you a chance to make up for it...then what kind of person does that make me?"

"They all seemed to let out sighs of relief at the same time. "You're too good for this world, Jack." Tooth pouted.

"That's sweet, thank you." I told her with an honest and appreciative smile, which she returned gladly. I then turned to the vision and let out a sigh of my own. "Continue."

 _"Good, now come on."_  She opened a portal and we were suddenly in what I know as my room every now and then when summer gets to be too much for me.  _"Take your coat and shirt off."_  I couldn't help the grin that crossed over my face as I watched everyone's expression at seeing my 'younger' self get undressed, and the blush on Tooth's face was beautiful. Despite appearing thin, I'm actually pretty muscular for my age. My arms were built and tone, my chest was strong and defined, and so was the six pack I had.

"Jacky..."

"Stop!" Bunny, instead of staying behind me, came beside me as he stared at my completely undressed upper half. "What is it? Impressed by my physical appearance?" I asked, purposefully sounding arrogant, which he thankfully caught on to.

"I know you're joking, but in all honesty, yes. There's also the burn marks on ya. How are ya able to still move? Most of your body is burned, and from what it seems like, she had already been putting that salve on you for two days already. Those burns...they used to be third degree..."

"Yes, they were, and at first I wasn't able to move, but..." I let out a disgusted shudder. "...I was able to feel. She said it was enchanted Aloe Vera and coconut oil mixed in with a special ointment. I didn't care what it was, it was slimy and disgusting and smelled like peppermint...A LOT of peppermint. At this point, it does work and the burns completely go away with her help, but UGH! It's so gross!"

"It worked though." He shot me a confident and daring look as if to say 'Are you really going to complain about something that works?' and I nodded my head with a bitter smile.

"Yeah...there's that..."

"Alrighty, keep goin'."

"Continue." I commanded with a smile.

_"Alright, now stand still, and don't move. You don't want me to have to apply this again, do you?"_

_"No...is this the last time?"_

_"Yes, and this time I will add some of my magic."_

_"Okay...but you know how awkward that gets...it gets beyond awkward."_

_"I know...believe me do I know. I know more of how it's awkward than you do, but it has to be done if you want to get back out there. Unless you want to be down for a whole season again. This salve was originally made for third degree burns and yours should've been healed by now, but they're not...so..."_

_"Fine..."_

We all watched as she carefully placed the ointment on my burns that were once a harsh shade of red, but in this memory they were lightening up into a pinker shade.  _"Okay...I'm done."_

_"Just...get it over with. It's weird enough as it is, and it feels like an invasion of privacy...and it makes me sweaty all over! I always have to take a shower after!"_

_"I know...more than you could ever possibly imagine."_  She winced and gave a shudder.  _"Now...give me your hands."_

_"Y-You know...there's nothing wrong w-with me taking a vacation..."_

_"Except there would be...now come on...let's get this over with."_

_"Fine..."_  I groaned out as I grabbed her hands.

"Stop!" I personally shouted and my whole entire body was red with embarrassment.

"Um...Jack?" Bunny questioned, but the floor was more interesting at the moment.

"It um...you um...probably won't see anything, but the awkward part about the healing thing...is that we both suddenly hear each other's thoughts from the past five years and feel everything the other has felt. It's awkward for us both especially when it comes to other spirits we both know...and it makes our powers feel funny for a few moments..."

"Jack, unfortunately...I know what you're talking about..."

My eyes went wide and I immediately looked up at him wide eyed, and noticed that he seemed just about as embarrassed as me if not more. "You do!?"

"Yup, and just like in your situation...it was my sibling. It was my oldest sister. The others I could heal just fine, but since I spent more time with my oldest sister...a bond was created, and when she fell off a cliff, breaking her leg and getting a nasty gash on her arm...I went to heal her...and it was awkward for us both. We promised to only do that if it was life or death...however, right after...we didn't speak for weeks."

"Yeah...I can see how that would be awkward...especially for a rabbit."

"Actually...I'm not always a rabbit..." He smirked at me.

"What? But I thought..."

"Pooka are part rabbit and part human. We can switch between forms."

"Wait...so you have human form?" North questioned with a dumbfounded expression. "And you never told us?"

"It never came up. Besides, this form has it's perks. It's faster and warmer. The acute hearing, smell, and sight ain't half bad either." He told North, then he looked at me and gave me a thoughtful expression. "Here, let me show ya..." He then placed his paw to the markings on his forehead, and suddenly, he started glowing a bright green color. Once it was gone, my jaw dropped to the floor as did Tooth and North's while Sandy was rolling his eyes with silent chuckles.

In front of us was no longer the Easter Bunny...it was E. Aster Bunnymund. He didn't have ears, but he did have long dark gray hair that was loose and medium length at the front, but in the back it was tied in a pony tail that reached all the way to his lower back. The dark gray color was such a dark gray it almost seemed blue and it didn't make him look old at all, in fact, he looked to be in his mid to late twenties, and he had no facial or chest hair at all. His skin was tanned, his muscles were toned and chiseled, his eyes were still just as green, and the markings he had on his rabbit form were still there, but on his human form, they looked more like tribal markings. And thank God he was wearing clothes in this form otherwise there would've been just another layer of awkward added to everything. He was shirtless, but the pants he wore were black and loose fitting pants in the actual pant area while it gripped at his hips at the top of them calves at the bottom of them. There were embroidered patterns in reds and blues. The patterns were so intricate, I had no choice in believing the pants were handmade, and over the pants was a large piece of cloth drooping off to the side that was sewed onto the pants on the right side, causing it to droop over the left side. that went from the middle of his front. "B-Bunny!?" I heard Tooth squeak out in shock.

"Yeah, Tooth?" He chuckled out as he crossed his arms that still wore the bracers that Bunny wore, and he gave her a smirk. She gasped, and practically swooned with the way she landed.

"Bunny...why you not tell us you have body of warrior!?" North shouted in disbelief with humor in his voice.

"Oi! Watch it, mate! I still have a warrior's body when I'm a Bunny. Besides, my other form is known as the Easter Bunny...it helps to remain one...and do you know how hard it is to hand paint eggs with paws? I can do it, but that doesn't mean I like to."

"Holy crap!" I shouted as I ran a hand through my hair. "You're freaking human! I thought...! You're human! You're really. Uncle Aster...you..."

"Heh, told ya."

"Yeah you did...hey wait!" I started with a wide smile as I got an idea. "You said I wouldn't want to race a rabbit...what about you?"

"We'll have to test that out someday...after we get through your awkward scene." He winced, and then he pressed his hand lightly against the marking on his forehead, changing him back into the Easter Bunny we all knew.

"R-Right..." I groaned out. "Continue..."

I watched myself with an immense cringing feeling as memory me placed my hands into her's, and both of our arms started to glow. Her's glowed a forest and emerald green while mine glowed white and sapphire. Then, as the colors intertwined, and then switched bodies, we both gasped and at the same time, both memory me and current me not only cringed but blushed violently. Once my burns were completely healed, the glowing green went back into her while the glowing white and sapphire went back into me. As soon as the colors were gone, we both separated.  _"I-I hate it w-when we do th-that! It's so a-awkward and disorienting!"_  I shouted as I tried to shake away the awkward feeling of knowing what she thought and felt about other spirits other than me, of course, because the connection didn't work that way.

 _"Trust me, Jack. You don't hate it more than I do..."_  She breathed out. Once we were both calmer she walked over to me.  _"Now let me see..."_  She analyzed where my burns were and nodded her head.  _"They're all gone. Go take a shower. You're drenched in sweat."_  She told me just before leaving.

The scene changed, and we were sitting on top of a lighthouse in the middle of the night, and the moon was full. We were staring out into the ocean as we had one of our strange picnics that we got into the habit of having, and because of what the night looked like and the food that was packed, I knew where or rather when we were. The year was 1900.  _"So, you wanted a picnic on top of a lighthouse?"_  She asked me, and I smiled.

_"It's where I can see the dolphins without bothering the ocean spirits. I also like watching the storms roll in."_

_"Hmm...sure you're not trying to suck up to me, Little Brother?"_

_"Me?"_  I fake gasped in shock as I held a dramatic hand over my heart.  _"Never!"_

 _"Uh huh..."_  She laughed out.  _"Sure..."_

_"So...can I see my present now?"_

_"In a minute. I need you to know that I have never given this gift to anyone before. This is a precious gift and should be used wisely."_

_"Used?"_

_"I'm going to add to your powers."_

_"It's not going to be like when you have to heal me is it? Because if so, pass!"_

_"No, nothing like that, but you must've noticed as well as I that we don't see each other much anymore. It's neither of our fault it just happens. You know that I enchanted your staff to allow you in my domain anytime you wish, but if you don't want to, but still wish to keep in contact with me when we're not near each other..."_  She got on her knees and leaned forward to place a kiss on my forehead. When she pulled away there was a soft green glow on my forehead, lips, and ears, and the glow left as quickly as it came.  _"...Now you will be able to talk to and understand any animal or animal like creature on earth. I'm connected to them, and they are connected to me. Now, the connections are a bit funny...if you want to know about my health, you have to speak with a bear of any type. If you want to know where I am, you have to speak with a bird. If you want to know about any weather phenomena that needs fixing speak to any of the big cats like the tigers or the lions, and if you want know about my emotions or what I'm doing at the moment, speak to the wolves. Can you remember all that?"_

_"Yes, I can remember it. Thank you! This is an amazing gift! I feel warm all over."_

_"I'm glad you like it. You know...you should be able to communicate with Comet now."_  She grinned at me.

_"Oh! She'll be thrilled!"_

_"You know...since I gave you a gift...perhaps you can give me one. You never told me how you started to get long with the reign deer."_

_"Oh, that...well...Um...Flora and I may have gotten into a fight..."_

_"You did? I thought she liked you."_

_"She likes me...in front of you. Truth is, she hates me because I'm Winter. She bruised me pretty bad, but nothing more. I flew to the North until I couldn't anymore and then I crashed into a bed of snow. I was still conscious, just in a lot of pain. The reign deer were let out for some air, and Comet found me. She lifted me up with her antlers and showed me to the others as if seeking approval. Once she apparently got it, she took me into the over sized stall she had, and she buried me in hay nudging my nose and snorting air into my face. Then, I heard the main door open. That's when Comet moved in front of the hay she hid me in. Apparently it was North, and he doesn't do well with unwanted guests. Once he left, and apparently didn't notice me, Comet laid down and motioned for me to come to her. When I did, she motioned to the side of her shoulder, telling me to lay down. I did, and then she placed her head in my lap. After that...she...why are you laughing!?"_

As I looked at her seriously, she was trying and failing miserably to hold in a fit of laughter. At my question, whatever wall she thought she put up, crumbled. She was immediately thrown into a fit of laughter. _"The...the reign deer...! Comet...! She...! Oh my! This is too good! Comet took you in! One of Nicholas St. North's own reign deer hid a child from him! Oh my...! She took you in! She became a mother hen! She hid you from North so she could take care of you and protect you! Oh!"_

 _"Are you done?"_ I asked with an embarrassed and ticked off expression.

Once she calmed down she nodded as she continued to try and catch her breath.  _"That's...the most hilarious thing I've ever heard! Tell me...does she still play mother hen?"_

_"When she sees me. The yeti...they usually just escort me out of the North Pole."_

_"Can't say I'm not surprised. At least they don't toss you out into the snow. Now, the way hearing them will work is telepathically, but they will also understand everything you say."_

_"Can't wait to try it out."_

_"Remember...use it wisely."_

_"I will...I promise! Thank you!"_  I told her as I wrapped my arms around her, and she returned the hug with a bright smile.


	7. Chapter 7

"Stop!" I laughed out as I noticed North gawking at me and Emily.

"So that's what happened!?"

"Yup. The reign deer and I get along great. Prancer is a bit of an ass sometimes, but Dasher usually puts him in his place. I only learned their names after I learned how to read the elvish writing you wrote their names with. It wasn't that hard to pick up, and Emily helped."

"I can't believe it!"

Aster could be heard snickering, and then he himself was thrown into a fit of laughter. "North, I think ya better believe it, mate. It's the only explanation. Oh my...Mother Nature is right...this is too good! Well...at least you weren't completely alone then."

"I mostly was. Emily is right, we didn't see each other much, and even less after that. I only went to her domain for emergencies. However, I did speak with the animals about how she was and she apparently in turn did the same for me. Now come on, let's continue."

The next scene that started to play brought wide amused grins on mine and Bunny's faces. I had caught the reign deer outside again, and I flew straight to Comet.  _"C-Comet?"_

She lifted her head slowly and tilted her head.  _"Jack? What's wrong?"_  A woman's warm voice was heard, but it wasn't a woman at all. It was coming from

_"I...I can really understand you! Emily was right!"_

Comet seemed to jump back with wide eyes.  _"She gave you the gift!"_

_"Yeah, I guess so...is that a good thing?"_

_"Comet, what ARE you doing?"_  A deep and agitated voice echoed out and it was Prancer. He groaned as he walked closer to me and Comet.  _"It's not like the brat can understand us, and as much as I like him...like we all do, you're wasting your time."_

 _"Wow...who knew Prancer was such an ass?"_  I laughed out.  _"And by the way, I can understand you just fine."_

 _"He..."_  Prancer's eyes grew wide.  _"He...has the gift. Mother Nature gave him the gift."_

_"Okay...what's the gift!?"_

_"The gift..."_  Dasher started with his light and gentle tone.  _"...is something that can only ever be given one time every millennia, and Mother Nature hadn't given it to anyone. Well, until you apparently. Humans can learn how to speak with animals, but to be able to instantly understand and be able to communicate is a different story entirely. You hear our voice rather than just our noises. The humans that can learn to communicate with us can only hear our noises. This is a very good thing, Jack."_

 _"How?"_ I asked curiously.

_"Well, it means that you'll be able to communicate with animals or animal like creatures."_

_"Yeah...she said something about that...what does that mean exactly?"_

_"Hmm..." Dancer started with his deep baritone voice as he came over with the others. "...think of it like this. You've met the yeti, right?"_

_"Yeah? They speak gibberish..."_

_"No, they speak yettish. The yeti are animal like creatures, because they resemble an animal...and a humanoid creature at the same time. Because of that, they are known as an animal like creature. The same thing goes for Tooth's mini fairies. Now, because of the gift, you will be able to communicate with them."_

_"I wanna go try and speak to the yeti!"_

_"Go on then." Comet laughed out as she nudged my shoulder._

"Stop." I commanded the vision and crossed my arms as I looked at North while trying to hold back a laugh. "North, are you alright?"

"I'm...stunned...gobsmacked...speechless. I never thought...I've heard that Mother Nature could communicate with the animals of earth, but I never thought...so that's what that's like...and my reign deer...they really do seem to like you."

"This turned the world upside down for you, didn't it?" Aster asked, and North let out a shocked breath as he nodded his head. "You think you're gonna be alright?"

"Yeah...it was just...different."

"I can understand that." I told him with an honest smile. "It took me a while to get used to it. The animals had a lot to say when they found out I had been given the gift."

"That must've been difficult." Tooth sighed out in sympathy.

"It was, but I got over it. Let's continue okay?" They nodded their heads as the scene began.

As the vision continued, it showed me flying into the North Pole, and was caught by a yeti.  _"Again?"_  He sighed out when he saw me.

 _"Wait! I can understand you!"_  I shouted as he started to grab my arm.

_"Somehow I highly doubt that."_

_"No really! I can! Ask me anything!"_

"This child..." He groaned out and let go of my arm with an exasperated sigh.  _"Fine, I'll humor you. What are the names of North's reign deer?"_

_"Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen."_

The yeti's eyes widened and his crossed arms fell as he stared at me in shock.  _"What is your name?"_

_"Jack Frost. Mother Nature gave me what's apparently called 'the gift.'"_

_"It seems she has indeed. Well, now that we can talk...maybe you can answer another question for me. Why do you constantly try and get into the North Pole?"_

_"Why do you keep stopping me?"_  I spat back.

_"Answer my question, and I'll answer yours."_

I let out a sigh and brought a hand to my face, letting it drag itself down my face.  _"I wanted to talk to North."_

_"What? Why?"_

_"Because...I wanted help. I had lost control of my powers a few times and it was bad. I thought that since I heard he can use magic...that he could...anyway, sometime after...Mother Nature helped train me. After that, it was to see the workshop. I've always wanted to know what it looks like inside."_

_"Well...I'm sorry, but I can't let you inside the workshop."_  The yeti told me with a saddened expression.

_"Why not?"_

_"Because..."_

_"It's because spirits have started saying that I'm a trouble maker isn't it...?"_

_"I'm sorry, Jack Frost. That is exactly what it is."_  He lowered his head and shook it sadly.

"Jack, please stop vision..." North requested and so I did.

"North, what's wrong?" I asked after I commanded the vision to stop.

North wouldn't even look at me. He just looked to the icy floor we were standing on. "I had heard...rumors about you being a troublesome spirit...and I believed them. I never should've...but I did. There is no apology in whole world that I can make...but I am sorry. So very very sorry. It wasn't until 1999 that I started seeing you for spirit you really were...but that does not excuse what I had done..." I rolled my eyes with a smile and shook my head, but North couldn't see it so I flew up to him and gave him a hug. "Jack!?" He asked me with a startled gasp.

"It's alright now. How many times do I have to say it."

"Mate...you may have to say it more than ya want to. We never treated ya right, and it was wrong to suddenly treat ya right when Manny basically forced us. It wasn't right."

"I understand...but everything is okay for right now." I told both Bunny and North as I hugged North a bit tighter, causing him to finally wrap his arms around me in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Jack."

When he set me down he smiled at me and then looked at the vision, motioning for me to start it up again. "Continue."

_"Hmm...well, that's okay. I can't say that I understand, but it is his home I tried to break into. Oh! I forgot...I told you my name, but you never told me yours."_

_"I apologize. My name is Phil."_

_"Good name. Well, it's good to meet you Phil, I guess I better go."_

_"Hold on..."_  He trailed off as he placed a large hand on my shoulder.  _"North said he doesn't want you in the workshop, but he has no control over who the yeti allow into their homes. Come, my people will want to meet you."_

_"There's more of you!? And...why would they want to meet me!?"_

_"Because, you'll be the first person to completely understand us. North can understand us fine, but he can only understand the noises we make."_

_"Again with that...what's the difference?"_

_"Well, it's kind of the difference between humming a song or singing the actual lyrics. It all translates the same if you know it, but knowing the words to the song is a bit different than just knowing the tune."_

_"Oh...okay. I think I understand now."_

_"Good, come on."_

When the scene shifted again, I was looking up and noticed Sandy had just gotten done delivering dreams to the southern states of America, and with a bright mischievous smile, I flew up and tapped Sandy on the shoulder just before spinning around him.  _"Hey Sandy! You got time?"_

Sandy tapped a chin to his finger with a sly smile as he made a clock appear. _"Well...in New York the time is 11:56 PM."_  He told me with his arms confidently crossed.

 _"Well then...Come on!"_  I shouted excitedly as I got ready.

"Oh I remember this! This was in 1939! It's New Year's Eve!" I told the other Guardians as the memory continued with Memory Sandy nodding his head preparing a sand racing flag.

_"I'll beat ya there!"_

_"Sure you will!"_  He shouted with a grin on his face. Then, using his dream sand, he made the flag fly down signaling for us to start.

We immediately began our race, and Sandy even tried hurling some dream sand distractions at me, causing me to laugh. We were going a lot faster than I remember, but it was just as fun. Soon, we made it to the New York ball drop just in time.  _"3...2...1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"_  The crowd shouted as Sandy and I sat on his Sand cloud at the very top of the Empire State Building.

When the fireworks started I crossed my legs in excitement at how it all looked. The colors were so beautiful, and thought memory me was staring in awe and wonder at the fireworks, current me saw that Sandy was crying while smiling at me. "Stop!" I turned to face Sandy, and he was crying here too. "Sandy? Why are you crying? Both here...and there..."

"Are ya alright?" Bunny asked with a twinge of worry.

_"Yes, I'm fine...It's just...this was Jack's first New Year's Eve...and it's 1939...or well...in the memory it's now 1940...but...as a spirit, he never got to celebrate the holidays...or he chose not to. Mostly...it came down to him not having anyone to be with. When he told me that, I had asked him sometime in 1939 how old he was, and he told me he was going to be two hundred and twenty-seven in December. After he told me THAT I asked if he wanted me to take him to the New York New Year's Eve celebration...just to see the fireworks. He was overjoyed and so excited when I asked him, he nearly toppled me over on my dream cloud. Then...when we did go...and I saw how he reacted...I realized just how much of a child he really was. It...It all hurt so much, but it made me so incredibly happy that I could do that for him, and that it made him that happy to see the fireworks...I just regret not doing it sooner. That's why I cried then. Why I'm crying now...well...it's because not only can he experience all of the holidays he wants...he can do so with family and friends...and now we know more about his past...I'm...I'm happy."_

"Jack...seriously...nothin'?" Aster asked me with his ears folded down. "Not even from Mother Nature?"

"As far as New Year's...Christmas...or even Easter goes? No. Not her responsibility. That's what she told me anyway. She didn't want to tip the balance any. So...no...not until Sandy took me to New York."

"That changes from now on. Right boys?" Tooth asked and the other Guardian's nodded their head in agreement.

"Thank you..." I told them with a grateful smile. "Let's continue."

 _"Sandy...what are they doing down there?"_  I asked as I peered down while Sandy quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. When I looked at him, he was done and there was no sign that he was crying at all.

_"They're kissing, Jack. Romantic couples kiss each other on the lips at the very beginning of the New Year, and sometimes friends give each other what's known as a bear hug which is a really tight hug."_

_"Friends?"_

_"Yes. Sometimes they may even kiss each other on the cheek or forehead, but..."_  Suddenly, I moved over and gave Sandy the biggest and tightest hug I could muster without hurting him. "I...I...what was that for?" He asked as he looked up at me with a bewildered expression.

 _"You said friends give bear hugs. You're my first real friend. Mother Nature and the animals don't count...not even Phil...he's still more of an acquaintance since I haven't been to see him in so long...so yeah...you're my first real friend. You've been kind, you've talked to me, you've let me play with your dream sand, and you even put up with some of the pranks I pulled...and even pranked me back! We get along...and I've known you for a long time...I think that means we're friends...and even if you don't think of me as your friend...you'll always be my friend."_  When I was finished talking, I turned around to see that even more fireworks had continued all over the place and could be easily seen from where we were. However, while I was facing away from him, I didn't notice it then, but I noticed it now. My words seemed to mean a lot to Sandy because tears threatened to fall from his eyes again and his lips quivered.

"Stop..." I told the vision with wide eyes. "Sandy...why did my words make you almost cry?"

_"Because Jack...you gave me way too much credit. You...I was able to give you dreams in the early 1700's and then on...and yes, I let you play with my dream sand, but we RARELY saw each other at this point in time. You would see me maybe twice a year...and sometimes we wouldn't see each other at all for a year or two...this was the first time we had seen each other more than twice a year...this was the third time we saw each other in 1939...and the fact that you considered me your first real friend with such little contact...and the fact that even if I didn't reciprocate your friendship, you would still feel that way...it was overwhelming. The fact that I was your first friend in two hundred and twenty-seven years...it...it broke my heart, and I promised to myself while you were watching the fireworks that I would be a better friend...and a better Guardian."_

"Why a better Guardian?" Aster asked and I had to agree with him on this one.

_"Keep in mind that I had been able to give Jack sweet dreams before...I am the Guardian of dreams...one of the reasons the topic of New Year's was brought up was because five years prior I didn't see the normal dreams of snow or dolphins...but I saw fireworks. I read the dream and it was him able to go to New York with someone so that they could watch the fireworks together on New Year's Eve. Then I saw the dream again in 1939. I...it...was something I was able to do. Make a dream come true, and I should've done it five years before this...but when I made this dream come true...the weight of it along with his words...it was almost like a motivational wake up call so to speak."_

"That's why we started seeing more of each other after that." I breathed out as realization suddenly dawned on me.

 _"Yes..."_  He nodded his head.  _"...That's why."_

"I'm sorry, Sandy..."

_"Please don't be sorry, Jack. I'm the one who should be saying sorry...and thank you."_

"Thank you?"

_"Like I said...a motivational wake up call...I immediately started doing more, and keeping a closer eye on the dreams I give."_

"Oh...you're welcome...I guess. Um...let's continue..."

Sandy nodded his head at me as I watched the other fireworks, and then I turned around.  _"You're my friend too."_  He told me with his symbols, and then he gave me his own bear hug.  _"Happy New Year, Jack."_

_"Happy New Year, Sandy."_


	8. Chapter 8

The scene changed to a memory I don't like to look back on. However, I was extremely grateful that we skipped the holocaust. It's just, this was going to probably be really difficult on Aster. The year is 1968 and I was rushing into Emily's Castle, rushing to her room where she was sleeping.  _"Emily! Emily!"_  I shouted at her and shook her awake.

 _"Jack!? What is it!? What's wrong!?"_  She quickly asked as she sat up in her bed, wearing a blue long sleeved nightgown.

_"There's a storm I was trying to take care of but there's a problem...It's become sentient...and there's shadows as well as a Wendigo! It's the middle of the night...and the night before Easter!"_

_"It's become Sentient!? A mind of it's own!?"_

_"It's even gained a voice! It tried taunting me! We have to go!"_

_"Leave my room and let me get dressed. Where is the storm now?"_

_"It's in Burgess, but it's trying to take over the whole coast!"_

_"I'll meet you there! Go see if you can take care of the Wendigo!"_

The scene blinked and she shot out of her portal to meet me.  _"I took care of the Wendigo."_

 _"Good job, Jack. Now..."_  We flew up to the storm together.  _"...we just have to deal with this thing."_

 _"Oh, Mother Nature! A pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry if you don't know me, I was just a tiny sleeping winter sprite when suddenly...I got a taste of Jack's blood."_ In the middle of the blizzard we could both see a woman dressed in a light blue dress, pale wings and skin, and her eyes were red as rubies. She was just a bit shorter than Mother Nature, but the look in her eyes made her look positively mad.

 _"His blood!?"_  She quickly turned to me and I lifted my shirt to reveal a thick layer of ice covering two gashes that were at least an inch deep and three inches long going from my stomach and towards my back.

_"The Wendigo got me during the blizzard, and then it became sentient."_

_"Blood is a powerful thing, Jack. You must be careful next time."_  Both Emily and Wendy told me at the same time.

 _"It's still creepy when the two of you do that!"_ I laughed out, which hurt my side, causing my amusement to die down quickly.

_"Oh, no, please do give more blood! It made me so powerful! The world needs more snow, more purity, and just...more cold!"_

_"You cannot go on like this! You're upsetting the balance!"_

_"Wanna bet!"_ The storm shouted and the blizzard became even more fierce than before.

_"Jack, do you remember what I talked to you about...sharing our powers?"_

_"That it would be completely different from the healing thing...that we would share powers. I would have half of yours and you would have half of mine..."_

_"Yes, and that you were never allowed to ask why only you and I can do something so powerful."_

_"Yes, I remember...wait...you want to do that now!?"_

_"Yes!"_

_"But I haven't even trained for it!"_

_"Consider this your training! It's the only way...I think you know that. Neither of us can do this alone. It's a sentient storm! It's not controlled!"_

_"Alright, I'll do it."_

"Jack, stop the vision!"

"Stop...what is it, Uncle Aster?"

"This...this is 1968...isn't it."

"Yes...it is..."

"Oh..." He shook his head and his ears went flat against his head as he stared at the vision. "...I...I had no idea...and what Mother Nature is askin' ya to do...you never really found out?"

"Found out what? About the power sharing?"

"Yeah...well, I guess she wouldn't have told ya...it um...is only something the Pitchiner family can do. You and Mother Nature are part of the Pitchiner family. Whether you had his last name or not...you were his son, and he complete your staff rite. In your language it's called 'Noble Power Share.' What I don't think she told you is...well...what happens under the condition that a Pitchiner child is adopted from birth...which you were. Did she um...happen to tell you anything about blood getting mixed with what you're about to do?"

"No..."

"Thought so." I looked at Aster with a furrowing brow, and my gaze caught Sandy's expression. His eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped in disbelief and the same look of reverence he had before when I made my bond with my staff. "Ya see...the condition for an adopted child from birth...which you were in every sense of the word...is that if the eldest siblin' should preform the 'Noble Power Share' not only do they share powers, but they share blood. The power share can be reversed, and you both receive your proper powers again...but once the 'Noble Power Share' is preformed with an adopted child...the blood the adopted child was born with...changes. It doesn't alter ya by much...it...it just makes you completely related by blood. Basically...your blood changed as if you were born as Alain and Kozmotis' son. Alain was Emily's Mother and she was always known as Lady Pitchiner. So...when you...I'm assuming you did." I nodded. "Right...well...you don't need to worry about Wendy still being your Mother. She's still your Mother one hundred percent, it just makes the blood similar because you preformed the power share bond with Emily...It made your blood like hers. I bet you felt more powerful after didn't you?"

"I did...after everything...it felt strange and wonderful at the same time, but it was also a bit frightening."

"Right...so...now that you know you're not technically adopted anymore...?"

"I...Emily is my sister by blood now...isn't she?"

"That's what I said. What do ya think?"

"I think that's a lot to take in!" I chuckled out nervously.

"Yeah...it was one thing when he took ya in...another thing when you actually become related...don't worry...we'll have plenty of time to talk about that with Mother Nature after this."

"Oh man...won't she be surprised to know I have my memories back...does she know you guys do a whole memory trip?"

"No...no one knows but the five of us and Manny."

"Oh! I am going to have fun with that!"

"Yes well...I have self ridicule to get to...so..."

"You know...you're the one that asked me to stop the vision" I smirked at him." Sandy...are you alright?"

 _"You just keep being full of surprises...huh, Jack?"_  He grinned at me with his eyes still wide in shock.  _"Yeah, I'll be fine...it's just a bit of a shock. Go ahead."_

"Continue." I told the vision and watched as Mother Nature flew down to the ground, with me following her.

She placed a palm on a tree and pulled out her staff.  _"Alright...you'll feel different during and after...but don't be afraid. You should be able to instinctively use my powers and I will be able to do the same with you."_  She extended her staff to me, and I did the same to her, letting the middle of our staffs touch each other. There was a bright white and green glow that surrounded both of us as she gained white highlights in her hair, and I gained black in mine. One of my eyes turned forest green while one of hers turned ice blue.  _"Whoa...Jack...your power is..."_

_"Yeah...your's too...it feels warm and comforting."_

_"Your's feels fun and exciting! Let's go! Remember, it should come naturally to you, and don't be afraid."_

I nodded my head as we flew back up to the out of control winter sprite.  _"Done with your talk? Oh...it seems the two of you have taken on some different fashion trends, well I'm not one to judge...now...if you don't mind...I need you out of my WAY!"_  The winter sprite started manipulating the blizzard so that it would hit us, but I quickly put up a strange kind of shield using my staff. The shield floated in front of us, and it was green in color, but it also held swirling white snowflakes inside it.  _"WHAT!?"_

_"Well done, Jack!"_

_"Thank you."_  I told her with a mischievous smirk appearing on my face. I turned to her in mid air and gave a gentlemanly bow.  _"Care to dance, my lady?"_

She took my hand with a broad smile as her eyes became filled to the brim with mischief of her own.  _"Don't mind if I do!"_  While we held each other's hand we both shot energy out of our staffs that were both giving off an electric blue and neon green light as we targeted the sprite.

 _"JUST...WHAT THE HELL...DID THE...TWO OF YOU...DO!?"_  The winter sprite screamed as she dodged our attacks.

Letting go of Emily's hand, I felt it in my very veins what I was able to do. I twirled my staff in my hand with my palm facing her, and created a sideways cyclone of snow that faced her head on, which was then accompanied by thunder and lightning. It knocked her out of the sky, making her dizzy, so Emily and I rushed down to the ground to meet her. Once we met her on the ground, I noticed that there was a lightning burn on her shoulder.  _"Huh...thunder snow tornado...interesting."_

_"I know right!?" I laughed out. "Now..."_

_"You think I'm finished!?"_  The sprite asked as she quickly got up, and though the blizzard had died down, it was still fierce.

 _"Oh, no...we're pretty sure you still have some fight in you."_  Emily growled out as she then pointed her staff at the sprite and shot ice daggers that were in the form of leaves, showing that even though I couldn't remember that I knew how to do that, she certainly could.

As she barraged her with frozen leaf daggers, I slammed my staff on the ground and not only did I make the ground shake, but I made ice form around her legs, and had it forcing it's way up to her hips.  _"You're not going anywhere."_  I then formed a large snowball over her head and dropped it on top of her, knocking her unconscious. The storm then went from being crazy, and dangerous to a normal small blizzard.

 _"Very good, Jack! Here, let's reverse..."_  We repeated the same action that altered our appearance and we went back to normal. Mother Nature wrapped the sprite up in thick thorny vines and opened a portal while she took her out of the ice.  _"I'll be back to help melt the snow...but dawn is approaching and it IS Easter...avoid the Easter Bunny if you can while you get rid of the storm. I don't think he would believe a word of what you say...and if he sees you...may very well blame you, and with as much of the ground is covered in snow...I'm afraid he will attack you..."_

 _"Alright."_  I told her as I flew back up into the sky while she walked through her portal. Once she was gone, I got started how I usually did, but the other Guardians didn't know what I usually did. Until right when I started. I rolled my sleeves up as I floated in mid air, and started waltzing an invisible self waltz. I wasn't pretending I had a partner or anything, but the steps were the same, and I was literally walking on air rather than merely floating. While I waltzed I moved my staff to control the snow as Wen...Mother...followed my movements, practically dancing with me. As my dance came to an end I began laughing as I spun around in the air, giddy from the job well done I did and from when Emily and I fought together.

However, that's when Bunny stepped into the picture, and saw me.  _"Ya menace! Get down here!"_

I shrugged my shoulders as I thought,  _'Well...too late to run away now.'_  I flew down to him and was met with the most vengeful glare I had ever seen.  _"Hey, Bunny..."_  I started but was instantly met with a paw to my face, clawing my cheek up pretty bad.

I staggered back quite a bit as I brought a shaky hand up to the scratch marks. When I looked at my hand, I saw blood.  _"Ya damn useless spirit!"_  He swung another paw at me, but I dodged it.  _"Can't even control your own element!"_  He tried to swipe at me again, but I blocked him with my staff.  _"Ya ruined my holiday you unwanted, horrid, selfish, useless spirit!"_  He used his other paw and clawed me from the top of my neck to my collar bone coloring my entire shoulder and chest a deep crimson.

"Jack! Make it stop! I'm beggin' ya!" I heard Aster sob out from behind me.

"STOP!" I shouted and immediately turned to face Bunny, and to my surprise he pressed his paw to his head, transforming back into his human form. Tears were spilling down his cheeks like a waterfall while his eyes were wide with horror at what he had seen himself do to me. Once fully in his human form, he fell to his knees, and lifted his shaky hands to look at them.

"I-I d-don't...I c-couldn't have...I...I wouldn't have...I...attacked...I...c-clawed a-at you! I...I don't...J-Jack...I...I don't r-remember any of that! Y-You h-have to b-believe me...PLEASE BELIEVE ME! I d-don't..." He shouted in between sobs as he looked at his hands.

"Uncle Aster?" I questioned as I noticed how fast the tears were coming.

His head snapped up, his eyes looking at me with even more horror than his eyes had shown before. His jaw was dropped and he shuffled backwards until his back hit a tree in the memory. "D-Don't...c-call m-me that...I don't...I don't deserve t-to be called that! I..."

Although it kind of hurt that he didn't want me to call him Uncle anymore, I could sympathize with him and his reaction. "Bunny..." I trailed off with a slightly hurt smile. "...I know you don't remember it."

"Y-Ya w-what?"

"Tooth isn't the only one that can affect memories."

I heard Tooth gasp through her own shock, and at the moment I didn't even want to see North's reaction, but off to the left Sandy had slow tears falling from his eyes, and I honestly couldn't tell if they were for me or Bunny. "Mother Nature..." Tooth breathed out.

"Yeah...I asked her to take away his memory of it happening." I told her.

"You...b-but why?" He asked with desperation written on his face.

"It um...would be easier to show you. I'm pretty sure it will show it...if not, I will tell you. Will you let me do that?" With tears still falling from his eyes he stood on uneasy legs and nodded his head. "Okay...Continue."

We all turned around to face the vision of Bunny continuously trying to swipe at me, already getting two good hits in.  _"Bunny! Let me explain!"_

_"I don't want to hear your childish excuses! No...saying you're childish would be an insult to children! The very same children I protect from people like you!"_

_"I was controlling the blizzard!"_

_"Oh, yeah! I saw ya controllin' it alright!"_  He took another swipe at me, but this time he got right where the Wendigo wound was, and he tore the entire fabric that laid over the gashes. The scratch he gave that time slashed through the ice and cut up the gashes even more.

I fell to my knees in the snow, clutching my side in pain as my blood quickly stained the snow, and I could tell from where I was that he immediately regretted what he had done.  _"W-winter...sprite...gone...rogue...W-Wendigo too...tried to...help..."_  I breathed out in pain, and watched as he looked at his paws the same way he looked at his hands just moments ago, but before he could react or say anything, I heard Emily's portal and watched as she immediately took in the sight of my face, neck, and side.

 _"BUNNY!"_  She howled out, and suddenly the wind picked up as a thunderstorm rolled in. There wasn't any rain but there was certainly a storm if the sudden dark overcast was anything to go by.

 _"Emily..."_  Wendy started.  _"...calm yourself...please..."_

Emily ignored her, and marched straight towards Bunny.  _"HOW DARE YOU!? I TOLD HIM YOU MAY ATTACK HIM, BUT I DIDN'T THINK THAT YOU WOULD TRY AND TEAR HIM TO FUCKING SHREDS! I want you to tell me what you are!"_

_"I...I am..." He started as he then turned his gaze to face her. "...the Guardian of Hope...the Easter Bunny...I guard and protect the children of earth."_

_"IS THAT SO!?"_  She growled out with a menacing look.  _"TELL ME...How old do you think he is?"_

_"He's...about a century or two... "_

_"As far as being a spirit goes, he's a little over two and a half centuries old, but that's not what I meant. Take a guess at how old he is physically."_

_"He's...seventeen or eighteen...why does that matter?"_  He asked as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

_"WRONG! HE IS PHYSICALLY FOURTEEN! YOU JUST CLAWED UP A CHILD OF EARTH! AN IMMORTAL CHILD, BUT A CHILD OF EARTH NONE THE LESS!"_

_"H-He can't be a child...he...I mean...there's never been a child spirit before!"_

_"Yeah, well, Manny decided to make an exception!"_

_"M-Manny!? N-Not y-you!? You didn't create him!?"_

Emily had a twisted yet highly amused smile.  _"I can assure you a thousand percent I had no part in his creation."_  And with what I know now, her words are much more hilarious, but I couldn't bring myself to even smirk as I continued to watch the events unfold.

 _"M-Manny created...and...he's...he's a ch-child...I..."_  He looked at his paws again with far more horror than before when he opened the wound, and he once again noticed the blood on his paws.  _"M-My p-paws! I...I attacked...no...no no no NO! I..."_

 _"Emily..."_  I started as I pulled myself up out of the snow.

_"Easy, Little Brother..."_

_"E-Emily!? Little Brother!? Wha-I..."_  Before he could say anything else, his eyes trailed to the blood stained snow.  _"No...I...how could I...I'm...s-supposed t-to be a...a Guardian...I..."_

 _"Emily...I need you...to take away...his memories of...ever attacking...me. Keep the...sight he saw...the yelling, and the insults, but...take away him...physically attacking me. Also take away me explaining myself and you showing up. Leave JUST the blizzard he saw, the yelling, and the insults...and if you can...add something about me being a mischievous smart mouth...heh...sounds like me...doesn't...it?"_  At my last word, I lost consciousness as I fell back to the ground. However, thanks to the advantage given by Manny, I was able to see what happened while I was out.

_"Strewth...t-tell me I didn't..."_

Emily looked at my unconscious body and sighed, seemingly calming herself down as tears started to fall from her own eyes, which shocked and concerned all of us watching the memory.  _"Oh, trust me, Bunny..."_  She seethed as she then turned to face Bunny.  _"...if you had killed my little brother, you would be facing much more than my seething anger. You would be facing my wrath, fury, and every element I can command."_ She crouched down and used her staff to send some kind of nature related magic to the wounds, merely stopping the blood, not actually closing the wounds.

_"W-What do you mean by little Brother?"_

_"That's right, and he thinks it's merely a nickname."_  She told him as she stood back up.

_"IT ISN'T!?"_

_"No...Now, let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, almost two hundred and seventy years ago, a very gifted child was born, but he wasn't wanted by the family he was born into, and somehow had severed my ties to the North wind, also known as Wendy. The midwife that helped deliver the infant took him away from the home like the birth mother had asked...and she had unknowingly placed him on a mattress where a bed stood in the middle of the forest...which just so happened to be where my Father's lair was. My Father came out to see what had disturbed his defenses and he found a helpless newborn babe. Wendy had somehow been able to convince him into raising the child as his own, and Jack here..." She trailed off as she motioned to my body. "...did something extraordinary."_

_"W-What d-did h-he do?"_

_"With one touch, he returned my Father's humanity completely. After that, my father took care of the child and raised him as his own. He loved, cared, worried, scolded, played with, and trained him. With all of that, I had gained a brother I didn't even know about until the mid 1800's when I grabbed his staff. When I did that, I saw all of his buried memories. Manny took them away when he made him a spirit. Now, with that being said...that staff, Bunnymund...? It has been bound to him."_

_"I-It...you mean...he's..."_  Bunny's eyes widened considerably as he stared at my unconscious form.

_"Yes, he's the second heir to the Pitchiner throne, and not only that, but we preformed a power share...we share blood now...and when I looked into Jack's hidden memories...I saw every bit the man you and I knew well."_

_"H-He...Pitch was...J-Jack...he returned Pitch's humanity...and I...he's the prince...but Pitch betrayed everyone..."_

_"No, he didn't. What I also saw was Pitch telling Wendy and Jack the truth of what happened. My father has been innocent this whole time. The nightmares and fearlings had possessed his body and his voice while leaving him on the inside to witness everything his voice said, and everything his body did. He had absolutely nothing to gain from it, and he even begged Jack that if he should turn into the Boogeyman, that he was to go with Wendy to get all of you together so that you could defeat him once more, and that he couldn't risk losing Jack. He didn't want to watch himself hurt his son. My father is innocent."_

_"H-He...he's innocent?...And...Jack is the...he's THE prince! I...attacked the son of the man I once called brother! I...I attacked a child!"_

_"Jack was right to ask me to do this."_ She sighed out, and swiftly moved to place her hands on the sides of Bunny's head. _"E. Aster Bunnymund, you will not remember our conversation, you will not remember physically attacking Jack Frost, you will not remember hurting Jack Frost, you will not remember me_ _interfering. The memories you have will be the blizzard, the yelling, the insults, and you will remember Jack as having shrugged it off as a fun prank and flying away. Once I leave with Jack, you will have remembered it as when Jack flew out of sight."_ Emily took her hands away, and waved one hand at the blood in the snow and at the blood on Bunny's paws, making both disappear completely. She then leaned down with tears in her eyes as she picked me up bridal style in her arms, and opened a portal.

Once she was through, Bunny seemed to wake up, and he just growled at the snow around him.  _"Damn Frostbite!"_


	9. Chapter 9

The scene blinked and we were in my room back at Emily's castle, but I had to stop the vision for now. "Stop." I turned to face Bunny who was now standing by my side, still in human form as he stared at my shirtless and unconscious body on the bed. "Bunny?" I asked, not daring to try and call him 'Uncle' at the moment.

"I...J-Jack...I bloodied ya up...I didn't give you any time to explain...I nearly killed ya...and...with all of that...ya gave me mercy by takin' away my memories. I was damn near Hopeless..."

"I know...let's just continue for now and you'll see."

The scene continued, and Mother Nature was cleaning my wounds and I woke up when she pressed the cloth to my face.  _"Em-Emily..."_  I groaned out as I opened my eyes.

 _"Hey...how are you feeling?"_  She whispered in a loving tone as she continued to clean the blood on and around my wounds.

_"Like I just gotten beaten the shit out of by a Wendigo, a blizzard, and the Easter Kangaroo."_

_"Kangaroo? Why do you call him that?"_  She chuckled as she drained the bloodied cloth.  _"I've never heard you call him that."_

_"Have you ever...seen a...Kangaroo fight? Well...that's what it kind of...felt like...minus the ability to...balance on his tail and...and he had straighter punches and...more accurate swipes...but close enough."_

_"Wish I could say I wanted to see that fight, but I specifically remember telling you to stay away from him."_

_"I know, but he...asked me to...come down, so I...did. I knew he was going...to yell at me...and I was prepared to...take it...but not the physical fight."_

_"Yes, I also remember saying that he may attack you..."_

_"Yes, I know. You were...right, okay?"_

_"Hmm..."_  She started as she grabbed a cleaner cloth and began dipping it in the cleaning liquid she was using. I never found out what it was, all I knew was that it wasn't water, and it made me smell like I had taken a lavender bath.  _"...can I ask you something?"_

_"Well, it's not like I'm...going anywhere..."_

_"Why would you ask me to erase his memory of the fight?"_

_"Hmm...well, this is the most...we've talked in decades..."_

_"You're avoiding the question."_

_"And your expert skills of observation remain unmatched, Sis."_  I laughed out, but regretted it almost immediately, because it caused me to cough out blood, causing me to nearly hurl in the trashcan near my bed. Once I was done with my coughing fit I laid back in the bed.  _"Damn...the Kangaroo...got me good."_

 _"I don't think he would appreciate that nickname much."_  She tried an attempt at an amused smile, but her eyes told a different story as she started to clean the wound on my side.

 _"Oh, I hope not!"_  I smiled.  _"I knew he...was a Guardian and therefore...had to have SOME...fighting capability...but damn. Hey, how fast...do you think...he would be...in a...race?"_

She chuckled low as she drained the cloth again.  _"Not nearly as fast as you are at trying to avoid the question. I'm done cleaning your wounds...I'm going to need you to numb yourself."_

_"Right...because if we try the...healing thing now...because there's an open Wendigo...wound..."_

_"It'll spread the wound..."_

_"At least...one good thing...comes from being...scratched by a Wendigo...No awkward healing."_

_"You better consider yourself lucky that you have some strange immunity to the venom in their claws."_

_"Don't worry...I consider...myself...plenty...lucky."_ I took a shaking hand and placed my hand over the wound, causing the area to frost lightly before disappearing.  _"There...should be numb now."_ Emily took out a sewing kit and started sewing up my wounds.  _"To answer your...question...I couldn't leave him...like that."_

 _"What do you mean?"_  She asked as the thread started to glow.

"Jack?"

"Stop." I told the vision. "What is it, Tooth?"

"W-Well...you um..." She wrung her hands with a saddened expression and a slight hint of doubt in her eyes. I'm pretty sure it's probably from not wanting to ask whatever she's going to ask. "...she said that you had an immunity to Wendigo venom...how many times did it take for you to...find that out?"

"You wouldn't believe how interested Wendigo are when strange weather phenomena happens, or when there's a promise for children to arrive..."

"That's not an answer and you know it. Please, sweet tooth..."

"Five..." I sighed out as I shook my head. "...it took five times. All in the same fight. I fought them by myself, won, and then an owl told Mother Nature where I was when I was passed out in the snow. She yelled at me so much it took two days for my hearing to return to normal. When she was healing me from the scratches she was terrified I was going to die. She told me so after I woke up...after a month. That's when the scolding began."

"A MONTH!?"

"I lost a lot of blood, and one of them struck me on the back of the head."

"Wait...those shadows you have fought in past...were those sent by Pitch?" North questioned with a risen brow.

"Yeah, he kept trying to gain his strength."

"Why were we not told until much later!?"

"Good question, but really all that kept getting sent out were shadow creatures."

"Hmm...well...does not matter now, right?" North questioned with a small smile.

"Right." I told him with a smile of my own. "Let's continue."

_"Ah! I hate...the glowing...thing!"_

_"It's called thread, genius, and it's purifying the tainted blood. Immune or not, you know I'm going to take precautions. Now, answer my question. What did you mean by what you said?"_

_"It's...a bit difficult to explain..."_

_"Then try. Keep in mind, I am sewing you together, and I am sure I could sew a lovely pattern into your numb skin."_

_"R-Right...um..."_

_"There's also the fact that the only Guardian you've told me you like is the Sandman, and that you've become friends."_

_"Do you...want me...to answer or...not?"_

She laughed lightly as she clipped the thread and started on the next gash. _"Very well. I apologize, Jack."_

_"I couldn't...leave him like that...because...I saw the look...on his face when he...realized what he had done. He realized it...just before you...started yelling. He was just overwhelmed...with anger. Easter is his pride and joy...and I've seen...him enough times...throughout the years...even when he...didn't know me. I know...how much he...loves the children. He has...one day...out of the year...and it got buried in snow. However, when he...tore at the Wendigo wound...he realized...what he had done...and...Emily...he was horrified with himself. All of...the joy he had left...it became sorrow, anxiety, self ridicule, and horror. I could...sense it somehow. I couldn't leave him...like that. I don't...care if...he's mad at me...for the rest of...my immortal life..."_

_"Except...you WILL care. You know that. You've got such a big heart, but I've seen how you react when others belittle you. You get defensive and you try and stand your ground, but their words cut you like a fine blade."_

_"I just..."_

_"I understand, Jack. I do. You didn't want him to feel that way."_

_"But?"_

_"But..."_ She sighed out with a knowing smile. _"...sometimes it's better for people to live with their memories rather than forget them."_ At her words, her smile faltered, and I understood her words now way more than I did back then.

_"Key word being...sometimes. The way he was...he would've...never...forgiven himself. You have to believe me."_

_"I believe you and dammit...I know he wouldn't have forgiven himself!"_  She raised her voice slightly.  _"I've known him far longer than you, longer than the other Guardians...and I knew he wouldn't have forgiven himself."_

 _"You..."_  My eyes went wide as I turned my head to face her.  _"...you didn't want him to forget...did you?"_

_"No. I didn't. However, while you were unconscious, Bunny and I had a little chat. During our conversation...I realized you were right to ask it of me, and your reasons that you just gave me...they're very very good reasons, but that doesn't excuse his behavior!"_

_"It may not, but Emily...the children...need him."_

_"They need you too! You bring them snow days and winter and..."_

_"You know I've tried and tried and tried!"_  I interrupted.  _"They don't...see me! I'm invisible! There...has to be a...!"_  In the middle of my rant, I immediately clutched at my side where she was still sewing.  _"...ow..."_

_"That's what happens when you get yourself all worked up after getting seriously wounded."_

_"My...point is...There has to...be a reason the Man in the Moon...created me."_

_"I'm sorry your life has been hard."_ She whispered out with her eyes taking in a mixture of controlled rage and sorrow.

_"It's not your fault." I told her calmly as the pain subsided. "You're the one I trust the most in this world."_

_"I...don't deserve that trust, Jack."_

_"And why not?"_ I turned my head to face her with a concerned look.

 _"What if I knew something about you...but I...never told you?"_ Suddenly not caring about my injuries I leapt up from the bed and wrapped my arms tightly around her. _"Jack!?"_

 _"Whatever it is...I can tell that you've...known for a very...very...long time. If it was...something you were able to...tell me...I believe you would've. So...that means...whatever you know...about me...you can't tell me...right?"_ She held me tightly as she nodded her head. _"Then, I will trust you still...and I won't...ask about it."_ I pulled away and laid back down on the bed. _"Besides..."_ I held up my arm with my hand mostly open and my fingers slightly spread.  _"...we're brother and sister..."_

A singular tear fell from her eye as her fingers laced themselves between mine, and we were holding hands.  _"...Always..."_

 _"...and forever."_  I finished with a wide smile and soft eyes. Then, I allowed my hand to drop as she took hers away.

_"I need to finish tending to your wounds..."_

_"...I'm tired, Emily."_  I admitted with a light chuckle.  _"You can...keep healing me, but...in the top...drawer of my dresser...Sandy gave me...a New Year's...Eve present...five years ago. I haven't...used it...but I think...it would...be best if...I did."_

Emily gave a confused look at me as she got up and went to my dresser across the room. She soon pulled out a golden bag that fit nicely in the palm of her hand and her eyes instantly widened as her jaw slowly dropped. She opened the bag and gasped at what she saw.  _"He...gave you dream sand?"_

_"Yeah...he said...it was the...only thing...he thought he...could give me. Little does he...know...that his...friendship is enough. He told me...to use it if...I feel like I really...need it...and to...not tell anyone. I don't...know why...though."_

_"Because, Jack..."_  She told me as she walked back to her chair.  _"...Dream Sand is precious and powerful. There are a lot of spirits that would like some for themselves for various reasons. This is a huge show of his trust in you."_

_"His trust...in me?"_

_"Yes. He's trusting you to not use it in silly pranks or to use it against others. He's trusting you to use it in the way he asked you to."_

"Stop." I looked at the other Guardians and Sandy seemed to be a bit embarrassed.

"Sandy...you gave Jack...dream sand." North stated with wide eyes and a shocked expression.

"Okay...I got the explanation from Emily...why is it such a big deal to you?" I asked carefully, not meaning to sound rude.

"Well, because Mother Nature was right. It was a huge show of trust. You see...the sand he gives is..." Suddenly we saw Sandy waving his hands trying to be noticed.

"Sandy?" I asked him with a curious expression.

He nodded his head and held up symbols in an embarrassed manner.  _"Mother Nature is right, and so is Tooth. It is a huge show of trust, and Mother Nature was also right in saying that it's powerful. It can be used against others and depending on the amount given can sometimes effect how long they sleep for. The reason it's precious isn't just because I use it for children. I've only given it to those I consider my closest friends which, before you, would be North, Tooth, Bunny, even Mother Nature. What I gave you...WAS a sign of true friendship, and trust...is not something I easily give...ever."_

"Oh...wow...I'm sorry..."

 _"Don't be sorry!"_  He told me with worried eyes.  _"I don't regret ever giving it to you."_

"Okay...thank you...and um..." I turned to Aster who was looking down at me with an amazed expression, still in his human form. "Are you...are you okay now?"

"I...you...Jack...there's no way I'm gonna to be able to repay ya for that. You...Ya understood how important my holiday was to me. Ya understood the kids needed me. Ya knew it would've destroyed me. I..."

"I know one way you can repay me."

His eyes went wide as they instantly shined brighter with what I could only describe as a crashing wave of Hope. "What is it?" He asked me quickly.

I smiled up at him and for a few seconds I was afraid he would say no, but I quickly pushed it back so I could, in fact, tell him what would make up for it. "You let me call you 'Uncle Aster' again. I considered Emily my sister for years...and then she suddenly turns out to actually be my sister...and not only that, but you were practically Pitch's brother, and Pitch turned out to be my father...I have this incredibly amazing connection and I...I have a family. I want to keep it. That's all I want. I want the family I had been given. I still wanna call you Uncle. I..." Suddenly, his arms wrapped around me grabbing me and hugging me in an almost vice like grip.

"Ya c-can c-call m-me w-whatever ya like!" He sobbed out as he held the side of my face to his chest. "I...I'm s-so sorry, Jack. I'm sorry for hurtin' ya, for not listenin' to ya, for blamin' ya, for tellin' ya not to call me Uncle, for..."

I returned his hug with a wide smile. "I forgave you a long time ago. It's alright, Uncle Aster."

"Strewth...what did I do to deserve that?"

"You did nothing." I told him with a content smile as I pulled away from the hug. "It's freely given."

"You're a good nephew." He laughed out between the tears. "A troublesome and mischievous nephew...but a good one none the less."

"I'll take that as a complement." I told him as we both left the hug. "So...are you going to return to being a bunny?"

His eyes got wider and he looked down at himself. "Crikey! I hadn't realized! Well uh...I don't have to if ya don't want me to, but I can."

"Hmm...I dunno...I've known you as the Easter Bunny for a long time...which form do you like better?"

"Honestly? Believe it or not...this is the form I spend the most of my time in. It's just not the form I'm seen in a whole lot. No one really comes into the Warren. Like I said earlier...hand painted eggs are difficult to do with paws."

" _Do_  you want to stay like this?"

"Kinda do for now." He answered as he looked at the other Guardians. "It's nice to have others know about it...but y'all have to promise me somethin'."

"What is it?" Tooth asked.

"Ya can't go blabbin' about my form to other spirits. If they find out by seein' me then that's fine, but no talkin' about it."

"We promise!" North, Tooth, and even Sandy all agreed.

"I promise too. Now...can we keep going?" He nodded his head with an appreciative smile as he wiped his tears. "Alright then...continue."

_"He trusts me that much?"_

_"Apparently. Alright...lay all the way back."_ I did as she asked and she sprinkled a small amount of dream sand over my eyes. In no time at all I was out like a light with three Easter eggs floating above my head.


	10. Chapter 10

The vision changed and I was flying in a forest when I suddenly dove down to a tree branch. "Hey, _do you happen to know where Mother Nature is?"_  I asked an owl in the middle of the night.

 _"Over the Pacific Ocean. Storm not cooperating. Dangerous. Birds have flown for cover."_ The owl told me with every sentence giving off a resounding 'Hoo Hoo' of some sort.

_"Thank you!"_

"Oh...I remember this...I can't really remember the exact date...but it was around 1994." I sighed out and shook my head. This was not a good year for me and if the timeline was correct, it's the middle of summer.

The vision blinked and I was suddenly flying towards a vicious thunderstorm and Mother Nature was in the middle of it. As I got closer, I realized she was actually fighting a storm spirit. The storm spirits were practically invisible so you had to notice a difference somewhere in the air and altered refraction of light. This storm spirit had an almost faint outline of a man. _"I can storm where ever I damn well please!"_  A man's voice echoed fierce and threatening through out the sky as lightning continued to strike the water.

_"No, you cannot. You have grown mad with power."_

_"Mad? No! I just realized what I'm capable of. What I'm capable of, Mother Nature, is being able to produce more powerful storms than you! My storms are beautiful, wild, fierce bright, and loud. Yours are beautiful, I'll give you that, but they lack wildness."_

_"Your definition of wild is actually known as having no self control! Now, stop this storm before I'm forced to make you stop!"_

_"I guess you're going to have to fight me."_  The storm spirit seemed to shrug.  _"That is...if you think you can."_

I flew as fast as I could to get to her side. Once there, I pointed my staff at the spirit.  _"Ah...The Winter King..."_

"KING!?"

"STOP!" I shouted as I jumped a bit from their sudden yelling. I then turned to face them all with a slight blush of embarrassment. "Um..."

"Back the hell up just a mo'! KING!?" Aster shouted in disbelief.

"Um...well...that was never something I decided. Mother Nature didn't either and we both tried to get rid of the rumors and we tried to convince the others to stop calling me that, but the other elemental and seasonal spirits said that they would keep calling me that for as long as I was an elemental and seasonal spirit. There's the Snow Queen...but she's just an seasonal spirit. I'm both a seasonal spirit and an elemental. Being both is what makes me Winter itself...I don't like the title...and now that I know what Mother Nature knew the whole time...I can understand why she didn't like it for me either."

"So first...you're a known troublesome spirit, then ya turn out to be a prince, and now you're a bloody KING!? Anymore surprises?" He questioned as he ran a hand through his dark gray hair.

"Um...as far as titles go...no."

"Ya say ya didn't like the title?" He rose an eyebrow at me as he crossed his arms, and honestly, he looked more intimidating as a human than a bunny.

"Still don't, but we found out that we couldn't stop the rumors and we really couldn't tell other's what to think or believe so...it just kind of turned out that way. Why, is it that big of a problem?"

"Not a problem, Jacky. Just...surprising that's all, and I knew ya were shocked at bein' a prince and all, but I figure ya would've kinda liked to be a king."

"Uncle Aster...I've been a spirit from 1712 to now...I have seen plenty of kings to know that I wouldn't want to be one. The perks of being called one they have their small advantages...but the actually being one part...no thank you. That's way too much power and way too much responsibility."

"Smart move, Jack...and responsible too." He told me with a small smirk. "You still have to deal with bein' a prince, you know...because you ACTUALLY are one."

"Yeah, yeah...let's continue." I said as I smiled at him with a side glance.

_"...always good to see you. Now, what brings you out here in the middle of summer. A little out of your element isn't it, boy king?"_

_"He is not a king!"_  Emily snapped at the storm spirit.

_"Oh, but I think you'll find that he is. At least to the seasonal and elemental spirits."_

_"Jack, get out of here!"_  She told me with a glare that, to anyone else, would've seemed like a threat, but to me, it was to tell me that it was about to get extremely dangerous and I could get seriously hurt.

_"Who are you to command a king?"_

_"I am not a king."_  I growled out.  _"Now, do as she says and take away your storm, and don't even think about relocating it."_

_"Again...not according to..."_

_"They are all wrong, and so are you! I am no king!"_

_"Jack, go!"_

_"Oh, I think not. You see...king or no king...I will not have someone saying that all of the seasonal and elemental spirits, especially me! And as for you, Mother Nature, well let's see what happens when someone knocks you off of your high horse!"_

Without warning all of the lightning in the air struck Emily in the blink of an eye, and knocked her out of the sky. My eyes widened and as fast as I could, I dove down and caught her before she hit the water. I carried her in my arms like she did me when she took me away from Bunny in '68, and I carried her to shore.  _"Wolves! I need wolves!"_

 _Soon, I could hear a lot of very fast foot steps rushing towards me. "What troubles you J'keal?"_  A female wolf almost as large as me came forward with six other wolves coming out.

 _"Warkala, it's you! And hey! I told you, my name is Jack."_  I rolled my eyes in exasperation.

_"Not to the wolves. Now, what is it, J'keal?"_

_"Mother Nature...a storm spirit knocked her out of the sky. I need you to protect her. Will you?"_

_"You're asking, not telling..."_

_"I would never use the gift to give commands, you know that."_

_"Indeed we do. Go, we'll watch over her and clean what wounds we can. Oh, and J'keal..."_

_"What is it?"_

_"If it's a storm spirit, normal attacks will not work. You cannot merely use your element against his. You must trick him into hurting himself, and considering what your name means in wolf language, that shouldn't be a problem."_

_"What does my name mean in wolf?" I asked curiously as I set Emily down, and three wolves started to immediately hover over her._

_"We call you J'keal Trickeen Wolf."_

_"Wait...why wolf?"_

_"You have the gift, so we consider you one of us. Now, your name in our language, which is extremely different from any language man has created...your name means Jack the Trickster Wolf."_

_"Oh...thank you!"_ I told her honestly, feeling slightly honored at the name.

 _"You're most welcome."_ The wolf said as he briefly bowed his head to me. _"Now, go live up to your name, and take down that spirit by using his own power against him. My pack and I will look after her."_

 _"Thank you!"_  I told her and flew off to the storm spirit.

_"Ah, you're back. So...mind telling me how you were able to get wolves to come to your aid, and why they're protecting Mother Nature?"_

I cocked a sly smile as I started walking on air with my staff resting on shoulder.  _"Nah, don't think I'll tell someone like you something as important as that."_

 _"Someone like me!? How dare you!?"_  The spirit shouted as it started to try and preform the same attack on me, but I was able to dodge it and take one step closer.

 _"I mean..."_  I laughed out as I started to move closer.  _"...you're just as invisible as I am. So, why should I tell you anything?"_

_"You insolent...I am the storm!"_

_"And I am Winter. You're something that happens every now and then. Winter is winter."_

_"You think Winter is more fierce than a storm? There have been Monsoons, Hurricanes, Thunderstorms, Tornadoes!"_

_"Ah, owning up to your name are you?"_

_"You know nothing of my name!"_

_"Oh? What's your name?"_

_"Rainken!"_

_"Huh..."_  I gave a sly smirk as I flew even closer.  _"...could've sworn it was 'Natural Disaster'. You certainly act like one!"_

 _"You arrogant...!"_  I sped closer to him as I avoided the sudden onslaught of lightning bolts, and I swiftly moved behind him.

 _"I'M arrogant? Look at you? You think you can storm where ever you please huh? You think you can out power Mother Nature? There's so many reasons why, compared to Mother Nature, you're nothing but a little black rain cloud."_  I told him as I tried to touch him with my staff but it went through him.  _'Right...his own powers.'_

 _"Name them if you dare!"_  He shouted at me as he started to summon heavy rain which started to mix in with the harsh winds.

 _"Oh!"_  I laughed out with a wicked grin.  _"I dare!"_  I told him as he tried to hurl more lightning at me, but I dodged it and kept getting closer just before moving away and then back again to taunt him.  _"She is graceful, patient, methodical, intelligent, kind, understanding, and a master of the elements. She doesn't boast, brag, flaunt, or demand that her powers get recognized, because everyone knows how powerful she is. Now, with all of that, she is also fierce, protective, headstrong, wild, and free! You? You're nothing but an arrogant child compared to her. A child that wants attention, and thinks the only way to get it is to throw a tantrum saying 'I can do what I want when I want!' Give me a break! You may have struck down Mother Nature, but you made a fatal mistake."_  I told him all the while dodging all of his lightning as I flew in and out of the rain, and actually almost managed to get one of his own lightning bolts to strike him on the shoulder.

 _"And what was that!?"_  He spat out as thunder and lightning continued to fiercely dance around us.

 _"You left yourself to deal with me, and you hurt someone I care about!"_  I growled out as I started to spin around him, using my powers to transfer the rain into snow that would melt just before hitting the water, and wouldn't get noticed by meteorologists, but enough to piss him off. His lightning started to get even more out of control. I then, decided to make the stupidest move to date, but hey...it worked. I rushed forward, swiftly moved behind him, and hooked his armpits in my arms, forcing him to get overrun with rage because of how I was beating him, and therefore, forcing an uncontrolled lightning strike to pierce his heart. I was knocked back about a hundred feet, but I watched him, along with the storm, dissipate into nothing. His body seemed to evaporate as the sun came out.

"Jack..." I heard North breathe out.

"Stop. Yes North?" I questioned with a small knowing smile.

"You did not even need to lay hand on him. Not that you could apparently, but you got him to destroy himself."

"Yeah...not too proud of it, but I am happy he's gone. He hurt her, and I defend those I care about."

"Yes, I can see that. Not only that, but you very mischievous here with your taunts. You are fierce opponent."

"Thank you?"

"You're welcome. Is complement. I will know better than to ever try and fight with you. Not that I want to! But I know not to...ever."

"Awe...if you wanted to spar sometime, I wouldn't say no."

His eyes seemed to light up with delight. "Truly?"

"Truly." I told him with a reassuring yet mischievous smile.

"That makes me glad!" He bellowed out a laugh with mirthful eyes.

"I can tell." I laughed out "Let's continue."

Once the clouds cleared I flew down to the wolves and Mother Nature.  _"How is she?"_  I asked as I landed next to her body.

 _"She breathes."_  Warkala answered.  _"We got rid of all the blood we could, but she needs to be treated in her domain. She needs to be treated by her 'close one.'"_

_"What do you mean by 'close one'?"_

_"Someone she trusts completely and is close to. You, J'keal, are her 'close one'. Every creature living and breathing knows this."_

_"Right...thank you for looking after her."_

_"It was our pleasure, J'keal. You did well with the spirit. Farewell."_

Once the wolves left I tapped the middle of my staff twice against a nearby tree and a portal appeared.  _"Alright, Emily...let's get YOU mended and tended to for once."_  The vision blinked just as I was picking her up, and suddenly we were in her room with her laying on the bed, and I had apparently already undressed her and wrapped her stomach and chest in bandages, and I had already put the covers over her waist.

"Jack?" Aster asked.

"Stop." I looked at him and he gave me a questioning look.

"You undressed her and bandaged her?"

"Nah, the vision is just here for shits and giggles, Uncle Aster."

"Well...I mean...she's your sister..."

"Yes, it was awkward if that's what you're trying to get at, but like you said, she's my sister, and she's had to do the same for me more times than I care to count. I wasn't going to just wait for her to wake up and tell her she had to take care of it herself just because it would've felt awkward. We already had that awkward healing thing. This was still very awkward, but not compared to that. I had to."

"I get it, Jacky. I was just curious how ya felt about it."

"Awkward, like I was invading her privacy, nervous, and worried."

"I can understand that. Ya can go ahead and continue if ya like."

"Thanks. Let's continue."

 _"Come on, Emily..."_  I told her as I dabbed her forehead with a damp wash cloth.  _"...the world needs you...I need you."_  Once I took the cloth away I looked at the bandage and let out a shaky sigh.  _"You know...the wolves licked away a lot of the blood...but you're still badly burned. I put some of that slimy stuff on your wounds. I hope it works."_  The vision blinked and I was bringing in a bowl of soup.

"How long was she out?" Aster questioned.

"A while...this is the third day."

"Third!?"

"Yes, now shhh! I haven't stopped it."

Once I set the soup down and sat in the chair, I began undressing her wounds to which North, Tooth, Sandy, and Aster turned around. When memory me was done, current me cleared my throat letting them know it was okay. "You can turn around now."

Once they did, we watched as I carefully laid Emily back down on to the bed.  _"Ngh..."_  She moaned out in pain with a furrowed brow.

 _"Emily?"_  I questioned with wide and hopeful eyes.

 _"J-Jack?"_  Her voice rasped out, her voice barely audible, and there was a wince of pain as she tried to get up.

 _"Easy...easy..."_  I told her as I put my hand on her shoulder, trying to ease her back into the bed.  _"I can't let you up. Your wounds are still bad."_

 _"W-What h-happened?"_  She questioned as she felt her bandages.  _"You...bandaged...me."_  There was a slight but bitter smile.  _"That...must've...been...awkward...for...you."_

I went to the closet to grab two more pillows, and I put them behind her neck and shoulders to lift her up at least a little bit so she could eat. Once she seemed to be at least remotely comfortable, I grabbed the bowl of soup and started feeding her.  _"Not nearly as awkward as when you have to heal me."_

She took in the soup and swallowed it, but then winced again from the pain.  _"My...throat...hurts. How...long...have...I...been...out?"_  She asked me carefully as she took another bite.

_"Three days so far. Yeah, I bandaged you up, but I figure...you've had to do it for me enough times. It was time someone took care of you for a change. I put the slimy stuff on the burn wounds. The wolves I called licked away as much blood that they could and..."_

Her eyes went wide and she slowly turned her neck with tiny hints of pain in her eyes.  _"You...what?"_

_"I called wolves...I landed with you and shouted that I needed wolves...and they came."_

She let out a dry and pained chuckle as she slowly shook her head.  _"I...should've...known...something...like this...would...happen."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Jack...no one...has ever...spent...as...much...time in...my domain...as you. My...domain...holds...all...of...nature...magic. My domain...is...nature...magic...itself."_

_"Okay...what does that have to do with me?"_  I asked as I gave her another bite of the soup.

After she swallowed it she smiled at me.  _"Everything...considering...you were...able to...call for...the wolves."_

_"But...Isn't that what the gift is for? For me to be able to communicate with them?"_

_"Wolves...are...different. Normally...you...would...be able...to just...talk...with them, they'll...hear...you...out...answer you...but will...want...nothing...more...to...do...with...you. Not...only...that...but...you...said...wolves...correct? As...in...more...than...one?"_

_"Yes...it was Warkala and her pack."_

_"My...goodness..."_  She smiled.  _"...she even...gave...you...permission...to...use...her...name."_

_"What does me using her name have anything to do with it?"_

_"Names...are...important...Jack. Especially...to...animals. My...point...is...the...magic...of...my...domain...has...started...to...fuse...with...your...own."_

_"Wait...my powers are changing?"_

_"Not...exactly. You'll...still...be...able...to...do...everything...you...could...before. It's...just...you'll...be...able...to...do...more...now. I...can't...tell you...what...will...happen...but...even with...how...weak...I am...I...can...sense...you...have...nature...magic...in...you...as...well."_

"But...why can't you tell me what will happen? Can't spirits have more than one element? I mean...Flora has nature and water magic..."

"Not...for...spirits...like...you...and...me. It's...very...complicated...and I...didn't...think...it...would...actually...happen. I...didn't...know...it...was...possible...for...spirits...like...you...and...me."

_"Does this have something to do with what you know about me?"_

_"Yes...I'm...sorry."_

_"It's okay. Like I said...I trust you. I'm sure I'll figure out someday. Now, come on...I need you to finish this soup."_

She took another bite and forced it down.  _"It...tastes...good. What...is..it?"_

_"Garlic and spinach soup, and I added some ginger to it."_

_"I...like...the...spinach...part. I...can...eat...it...without...hurting...myself...too...much. This...was...a...good...idea."_

_"Yeah, I looked in one of your cook books. Weird that you have the recipe, but didn't recognize it."_

_"Well..." She smiled as she finally opened her eyes to see me. "...sorry...for...being...a...little...under...the...weather."_

_"Is that supposed to be a joke? You know...because you got blasted out of the sky by lightning?"_

_"Perhaps." She lightly chuckled. "I'm...afraid...I...can't...help...you...with...your...new...combination...of...powers. I...didn't...know...it...was...possible...but...at...the...same...time...I...feel...I...should've...known."_

_"It's alright. You just get some rest, okay? When you wake up I'll bring you some hot tea."_

_"Such...a...good...brother."_


	11. Chapter 11

When the scene changed, I instantly knew what year it was and the date. October 31st, 2005. I wasn't giving any snow that day, I just wanted to watch the kids have fun on Halloween. On my way to a small town in Louisiana I saw shadows, and horses.  _"Pitch!"_  I growled out as I dove down into the thickest part of the forest.

Once I landed I immediately started attacking the shadows and the strange horses that seemed to resemble Sandy's sand, but were also mostly shadow.  ** _"Jack Frost! Oh what a delight it is to see you again. Tell me...still not believed in?"_  **I turned around to face him and he had commanded his shadows and horses to stop.  _'Jack! You're still alive! Run! Please! Don't make me watch me hurt you! PLEASE, JACK! DON'T FIGHT ME!'_  Pitch screamed on the inside.  ** _'He can't hear you and he never will. Eventually, we will make you watch his death, hear his screams, feel his blood on your hands, and we will destroy him! He is the only reason you are even still in there! Can't have that now, can we!?'_**

_"And you're still slinking in the shadows. What do you want? Last time I saw you was in 1712."_

**_"Excellent question, but I don't think I'll answer that. How about you answer something for me. Why is it...that when you fight my shadows...I can never pick up your location and by the time I do...they're all defeated and you're nowhere in sight!?"_ **

_"Excellent question, but I don't think I'll answer that."_ I retorted with a smug grin.

 _'Good! Don't answer him! I don't know how you've done it, but you've survived! PLEASE, JACK! KEEP SURVIVING AND LEAVE! RUN!'_ Pitch howled in his mind, and you could practically hear his sobbing. Then, I heard Mother Nature's portal and she stepped out with all the air and grace she could.  _'Em-Emily?'_

 _"Emily? What are you doing here?"_ I asked with wide eyes as she pulled a staff out from the tree.

 _'JACK!? YOU KNOW HER!? HOW!?'_  Pitch's thoughts shouted.  ** _'That...is a very good question.'_**  The eerie voice commented with curiosity, and I got chills from how it sounded.  ** _"And how did the two of you meet?"_**

 _"How we met or know each other is none of your concern."_  She pointed her staff at  ** _Pitch_**  in the same way I was pointing mine, but she held a far greater fierceness in her eyes than I did.

 _ **'Oh...'**  _The cruel voice chuckled, sending more chills down my spine as I watched the vision.  _ **'...this is too good! Not only are we going to destroy the one who GAVE you your humanity back...we're going to get to destroy the one who made you LOSE it in the first place!'** **Pitch's**_  lips upturned into a sly smile.  ** _"Oh, I believe it is, my dear."_** He drawled out with a low and dark chuckle. _'No! Don't hurt them!'_ Pitch screamed desperately.

 _"Don't you dare call me that! You have no right!"_  At the time, I thought she was talking to  ** _Pitch_** , but this time I realized she was talking directly to the nightmares and fearlings, knowing that her father was innocent, but couldn't say anything.  _"Now, what do you want with Jack?"_

 _'You two really DO know each other...HOW!?' **Pitch**_  walked closer to us with his hands clasped together in delight.  ** _"Oh, nothing much...just a chat. He has somehow been avoiding my shadows and defeating them rather easily."_**

 _"Were they supposed to be difficult?"_  I laughed out.

 ** _Pitch_**  chuckled low with a wicked smile.  _ **"I thought they may at least prove some difficulty to you...yes."**   **Pitch**_  answered honestly and bitterly.

 _"Huh..."_  A smirk made it's way to my lips.  _"...don't think much then, do ya?"_

 ** _"I'd tread carefully if I were you, boy." Pitch_**  warned.

_"Well...thank goodness for that."_

**_"For what?" Pitch_**  inquired with an intrigued brow.

 _"That you're not me."_  I smirked at him and could see Emily doing the same.

 _"You're the one that needs to tread carefully Pitch."_  Emily growled out, and there was a wicked smile playing on her face. Then, suddenly there were wolves coming forward, and they immediately started running past me and Emily, heading straight for  ** _Pitch._**

"Mother Nature Summoned wolves?" North asked.

"Stop..." I shook my head. "...No, apparently  _I_  did." I smiled.

"How?"

"Just watch." I chuckled out. "Let's continue."

The wolves rushed towards him and started growling and barking with bared teeth and fury in their eyes. One of the wolves stood to my left, and another to Emily's right.  ** _"Mother Nature! Call off your hounds!"_**

_"I did not call them. Wolves are intelligent creatures. However, they are also protective creatures."_

**_"Protecting your mother huh?" Pitch_**  questioned as he started conjuring his own wolves made of shadows.  ** _"Destroy them!" Pitch_**  commanded.  _'NO!'_

While some of the shadows went after the wolves, some of them went after me and Emily.  _"Emily, I'll get the wolves, you cover me!"_

_"You got it!"_

_'She's...she's listening to him. She's being nice to him. She's not this nice to any of the spirits! What's going on!?'_  Pitch wondered desperately as confusion laced his thoughts. Then, the creeping echo started chuckling.  ** _'I don't know, but the fact that the situation is adding to your torment...the feeling is glorious.'_** I rushed in front of the wolves and started attacking the shadows with my electrical ice, while Emily did the same with the green energy that erupted from her staff and never failed to hit their target. As I fought the shadows alongside the wolves, I noticed that Emily and I soon started fighting back to back, turning and defeated each other's enemy while the wolves did the same as they practically circled us.  ** _'Oh, my, my, my...now, I've seen a good portion of your memory...does this happen to look familiar to you?'_**  The sickening voice laughed out in thought.  _'They...they fight like Aster and I used to...but that's...'_  The wicked laugh returned almost manically.  ** _'That is supposed to be impossible considering you and Aster made up that specific fighting style, and they don't even know who they are to each other! Do you remember why? Because your son doesn't remember you! Your son only knows you as someone who wishes to harm others and frighten children! Oh, and the best part? It is all he'll ever know you as! He'll never remember you as his Father! Your daughter on the other hand? She remembers everything you used to be, and is fighting side by side and back to back with your son, her little brother, and she doesn't know! Oh this is marvelous! And while you twist and writhe on the inside, desperately trying to tell your son to run, you'll watch your children hate and despise you as you destroy them! You will hear their screams as you kill them! You, Kozmotis Pitchiner, will witness the murder of your children at your own hands!'_** Pitch could be heard seething and practically growling somewhere in the back of his own mind.  _'I would NEVER hurt my children! I love them! I LOVE MY CHILDREN AND I WILL NOT LET YOU HURT THEM!'_  He growled out in what could only be heard and described as pure fury and rage, and almost immediately at his words something strange happened, and back then I thought it was strange by itself, but now that I could hear and witness everything properly, it was even stranger.

At Pitch's inner words the shadows dropped instantly and  ** _Pitch_**  started clutching at his chest and pulling at his hair.  _"Emily...what's going on?"_

_"I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it isn't good. Stay vigilant."_

_"Right!"_ However, before we could even continue the fight, he sunk back into the shadows, and completely disappeared. _"Uh...okay then?"_

 _"Something's not right..."_ Emily stated as she lowered her staff.

_"Are we really going to complain? We all only have a few scratches, and the shadows along with Pitch are gone."_

_"No...you're right. We shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth."_

"Stop!" I shouted with a curious and confused expression. "Does anyone have any idea what just happened!?"

Sandy then stepped forward with a joyful smile as he began showing his golden symbols.  _"The darkness inside him didn't have completely control. They never gained full control since they overran Pitch at the black gate if everything that's been said is true, and I believe it is. They want FULL control. They may have thought that if he destroyed the Pooka that they would gain control, but that didn't give them full control either, so they kept using him, going after everything dear to him. Do you remember the memory we saw where the shadows were attacking Mother Nature and that's how the two of you met?"_

"Yes..."

 _"The shadows were likely after her, because she's Pitch's daughter and still precious to him. They're trying to crush him and everything he cares about in order to get full control. If they use Pitch to kill you and Mother Nature, he would watch his own body and movements murder his own children. He had also said somewhere in his past that if he watched himself hurt or kill you that he would break and have no reason to live. They must've taken that as their mission. To destroy you and Mother Nature, using him as the weapon. T_ _he darkness in him wants full control and the only way they found out they could do that...was to use their possession over Pitch to kill you and Mother Nature. His children who he loves very much. If they succeeded...I have no doubt that they would've gained full control."_

"Wait...but Mother Nature hated him for thousands of years..."

_"Yes, but she was still alive. He could still watch her from the shadows. She was still alive and happy."_

"Jack, I think what Sandy is tryin' to explain to ya, is that even if you and Mother Nature hated and despised him, he still loved you, and could still be content lovin' ya from a distance. It was apparently his love for you that he was able to fight. He wasn't going to let anything hurt ya if he could help it, and when the darkness said he was going to watch himself kill you and Mother Nature, he wasn't going to let that happen. He loves the two of ya so much, that he braved the darkness of his own mind if only for a little while just so he could gain enough control to slink into the darkness and get far away from you and Mother Nature."

"But he somehow made you the last Pooka...or well...dark Pitch did...but...by destroying your entire race...he didn't fight then. He screamed and begged, I believe that, but he didn't fight like what you're sayin' and he saw you as a brother."

"But I am not his son. I am not his child. He met me later in life. He didn't raise me, love me, nurture me, and watch me grow. He didn't worry about me the same way he worried about you, he didn't have the same hopes, wishes, and dreams for me that he did for you, he didn't pour everythin' he had into me...he gave ya everything he could possibly give ya...including belief in us. He gave as much of his heart and soul he could, because you're his son and he loves ya, and I know he loves Mother Nature just as much."

"So...because I'm his son and Mother Nature is his daughter...and because he loves us, and didn't want us to get hurt or killed...he was able to fight back just enough to get away?"

"Exactly!"

"Wow...that's impressive...and sweet."

"Never underestimate a parent's love for their child."

"I can see that." I smiled with wide eyes. "Can we uh...keep going?"

"Sure we can."

"Continue."

 _"So...if you didn't summon the wolves...who did?"_  I asked as I scratched the back of my snow white hair as I looked down at the five large wolves that either sat or laid down around me.

 _"You did."_  She smiled at me.

_"I did!? I think maybe you got hit on the head during the fight. I didn't say anything."_

_"J'keal..."_  One of the wolves came up nudged their head against the top of my hip.  _"...we could sense that you were in danger, or at the very least we felt you raise your guard and that you were ready to fight."_

I crouched down and ran my hand through the wolf's fur, earning him leaning against my hand.  _"A wolf name Warkala said that they considered me one of them."_

_"It is the same for wolves everywhere. Word has spread all over the earth that you have the gift. Every wolf pack considers you a part of their pack, because you have the gift and have not abused it. Do you know what Warkala means in the language of the wolf?"_

_"No, what does it mean?"_

_"Wise Warrior. We give names with meaning. Do you know your full wolf name?"_

_"J'keal Trickeen Wolf. Jack the Trickster Wolf."_

_"Very good, but do you know what we consider to be a trickster?"_

_"Someone who can trick opponents?"_

_"Yes and no. It does mean that you can trick your opponents but it also means someone who can take a seemingly lost battle, and turn it around by doing something clever or mischievous. You are true to your name, but there's another part about being named Trickeen...you may be able to hide your thoughts from us, but not your body language or your emotions. We sense it as strongly as our own senses. You are one of us and we take care of our own regardless of rank."_

_"Thank you...what's your name."_

_"Shaero...my name is Shaero. It means Shadow. I am named as such because I mostly attack from the shadows and in the cover of night. Now, everything seems well, so we will take our leave. Farewell, Ma'reen Natune...Farewell J'kean Trickeen Wolf. Keep on your guard with that man...he is not all that he seems."_

"Stop!" I threw my hands up in the air in exasperation. "The damn wolves knew!?"

"They probably sensed something was off. They wouldn't have been able to know for sure." Aster told me with a reassuring glance.

"Fine...continue."

Suddenly Manny's voice boomed, stopping the vision again. _ **"Guardians, before the memory starts, a warning. Since this involves all of you at once, the events will unfold completely from start to finish. It will be similar to what you have seen where it blinks to another 'scene' that's part of the memory, but you will see from where I name him a Guardian to after the battle. It will likely be a bit disorienting, and many of you will not want to relive it, but it all involves him. Even when he wasn't there, it involved him. Good luck!"**_

"Great...this is where we all got together..." I sighed out. "Continue."


	12. Chapter 12

_"Uh guys...do you know what this means?"_  I saw Tooth question with wide eyes as her small fairies flew towards a large crystal where the Guardian symbol usually was.

 _"Manny is choosing new Guardian!"_  North stated in awe and wonder as he too looked at the strange blue crystal.

 _"What? Why!?"_  Bunny demanded.

 _"Must be big deal...Manny thinks we need help."_  North shrugged at Bunny as he continued to look at the crystal.

 _"Since when do we need help?"_  Bunny questioned, looking about ready to laugh, and I actually did chuckle at the sight of it.

 _"I wonder who it's gonna be!"_  Tooth exclaimed and then looked at Sandy who held up a four leaf clover.  _"Maybe the leprechaun?"_

 _"Please not the Groundhog...please not the Groundhog."_  Bunny pleaded as he bounced up and down slightly.

"Stop." I laughed out as I looked at Aster. "So, I take it you don't like him either?"

"Of course not! He's annoying and..."

"...Pompous..."

"...and rude!" He finished and we both started laughing. Once his laughter calmed down he let out a sigh. "Hey...mate...this is all gonna show me bein' an arrogant fool...and I'm sorry."

"You scratched me up, remember? I've been told a lot of hurtful words...and I know you now. It'll be fine. It may still hurt, but it'll be fine."

"Thanks..." He sighed out in relief and I couldn't stop the smile that appeared on my face.

"Continue."

Once the crystal formed my image, I got a good chuckle out of Tooth and Bunny's reaction. Tooth seemed to swoon while Bunny held his hands up quickly saying,  _"Uh, I take it back! The Groundhog's fine!"_

 _"Well, uh...a-as long as he, uh, protects the children, right?"_  Tooth tried to recover but it was too late, and if current Tooth's blushing face next to me was anything to go by, she didn't want me to know that she swooned at my image.

 _"Jack Frost!?"_  I heard Bunny shout, catching my attention at the voice of disbelief and agitation.  _"He doesn't care about children! All he does is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts! He's an irresponsible, selfish...!"_

 _"...Guardian..."_  North nodded as he held a hand out to the crystal.

 _"Jack Frost is many things...but he is NOT a GUARDIAN!"_  Bunny argued.

"Stop." I told the vision and I turned to face Aster, who was thankfully still in human form as his emotions seemed a bit more clearer in this form. "Uncle Aster?"

"I didn't know. I...It's not just The Blizzard of '68 that I didn't know about. I didn't know ya had been fightin' shadows, Pitch, storms, other spirits, or even hangin' out with Mother Nature...I..."

"It's alright. Like I said, I know you now, and you know now."

He looked up at me with a grateful smile and nodded his head. "Thanks, mate. That makes me feel a bit better."

"Good...let's continue."

The scene blinked and I was spreading frost on roads and buildings while chuckling and laughing. I froze a water fountain, causing a kid's tongue to get stuck, giving his friends a good laugh, I frosted a wall which ended up frosting a fish bowl, Wendy was playing with my hair as I continued to frost things and we both ended up scattering someone's hard work out the window, but I was still having fun seeing all the reactions my frost had. I twirled around a spire in Russia and sighed out the last bit of my laughter.  _"Oh! Now that...that was fun! Hey! Wind!"_

_"That was great fun! What now, Jack?"_

_"Take me home!"_

_"Home it is!"_  She laughed out lightly as she picked me up high into the air. So high, in fact, that I could see the next sunrise as I made my way over to my pond in Burgess.

As I flew through the air, I twirled and spun gracefully with my staff as I whooped and hollered my excitement and Joy. Then, I made it to Burgess, and dove down backwards.  _"SNOW DAY!"_  I then started to bob and weave through traffic as I gracefully spun and bounced off of cars and buildings, frosting everything as I went. I soon made it to my pond and skated across it until I made it to Jamie and then Wendy knocked knocked the book out of his hand while she was caught up in her own excitement.

 _"Oh! The book! I'm sorry."_  She whispered.

I chuckled lightly as I crouched next to it.  _"Huh, that looks interesting...good book?"_

 _"SNOW DAY!"_  Claude exclaimed while jumping up and down.

 _"You're welcome."_  I told them confidentially, but I knew they couldn't hear me.

We watched as the kids talked back and forth about finding the eggs, their belief in the Easter Bunny, and then we heard Jamie ask in an irritated manner,  _"Who's Jack Frost?"_

 _"No one, Honey."_  His mother told him in a dismissive tone.  _"It's just an expression."_

 _"Hey!"_  I shouted just before jumping down from the fence. I grabbed some snow, made a snow ball, and gave it a sly look.  _"Who's Jack Frost?"_  I then blew some magic onto it, focusing on Jamie having fun and being happy, and I threw it at his head with perfect aim.

 _"Wh-"_  He started out irritated, but as the blue sparkles made their way across his face, he immediately started lightening up and smiling.  _"Alright! Who threw that!?"_  He laughed out.

 _"Well..."_  I flew over to him.  _"It wasn't big foot, kiddo."_ I smiled at him, and they immediately started their snowball fight. At some point in the middle of it I ran across the snow, touching it with my staff.  _"Alright, who needs ammo?"_  I asked as I made snowballs on the ground.

As they continued to throw snowballs one of the kids threw a snowball at Cupcake.  _"Crud! I hit cupcake!"_

_"You hit Cupcake?"_

_"She hit Cupcake..."_

I balanced on my staff with a sly smile as I threw another, more magical, snowball at her.  _"Did you throw that?"_  One of the kids asked.

_"No."_

_"It wasn't me!"_

Once the magic started to take hold, I found myself grinning mischievously as I could feel the joy bubble in my heart. Suddenly she started chasing the kids with the snowman head in her hand. Thinking of something a little more fun than snowballs, and since he had a sled anyway, I flew in front of Jamie, and conjured some ice, creating a path for him to sled on. I hadn't meant for him to go into the street, but we did. Behind us, I could hear the kids crying out that he was going to the street and that it was dangerous, but it would've been even more dangerous if I had suddenly stopped it.  _"Whoa! Don't worry, kid, I gotcha. Hold on! It's gonna be alright!"_  As we continued, the path was starting to end quickly, so as fast as I could, I conjured more ice ahead of him and underneath him.  _"Keep up with me, kid! Take a left!"_

 _"Hey, slow down!"_  I heard someone shout.

 _"Oh no, no, no, no, no!"_  Jamie started saying repeatedly as we went in and out of traffic.

 _"Is that Jamie Bennett?"_  A woman's voice called.  _'Really? That's all you can say when you see a kid on a sled moving in and out of traffic with ice mysteriously being conjured in front of him!? Honestly...'_

 _"Hey watch it!"_  Someone shouted, but I didn't care.

 _"There you go!"_  I told him.

 _"No no!"_  He started saying again, but I couldn't stop it until I could find a safe place for him to land.  _"No no!"_  He shouted with a bit more panic than the previous times.

I looked up and saw what he saw, and it was a bulldozer making it's way down the street.  _"Whoa!"_  I shouted as I slammed my feet down with my staff, creating a turn and a ramp for Jamie.

 _"Whoa!"_  He cheered as he flew in the air just before landing in the snow bank in front of the statue. The children started coming forward, expressing their concerns for Jamie, but he quickly shot up with pure excitement on his face.  _"Whoa ho ho! Did you guys see that? It was amazing! I slid...I did a jump! And...and I slid under-"_

 _"Whoops."_  I cringed with a guilty smile.

_"Cool, a tooth!"_

_"Dude! That means cash!"_

_"Ah no..."_  I groaned out.  _'Unbelievable! I do all that and absolutely nothing!'_

_"No..."_

_"I gotta put this under my pillow!"_

_"Oh wait a minute, come on! Hold on, hold on! What about all the fun we just had? That wasn't the Tooth Fairy, that was me! What does a guy have to do to get a little attention around here?"_  I asked as I flew in front of them, but then they walked through me, making me feel colder than anything in the world and just...empty.

"Stop..." I cringed as I slowly turned to face the other Guardians that weren't looking at me like I expected them to. What I had expected were crossed arms and a scolding look, but what I ended up with were shocked and impressed expressions. "Um...guys?"

"Alright...I have questions." Aster told me point blank. "First off...what the heck was that snowball? Jamie was actin' like a bit of a brat at first. To his friends when he defended me, to Sophie when she fell, to his mom when she said the thing about you nippin' his nose...and then you throw that snowball at him, and he turns into the bright, kind, and fun kid we met during the battle. Same thing happened with Cupcake...so...just what the hell is in that snowball!?"

"Well...when I make the special snowballs...I put a little bit of everything in it..."

"Meaning?"

"Fun, laughter, joy, and mischief. At least, that's what I've noticed I've put in it. It...it's like I know it's in the snowball. All I have to do is throw it, and it brightens them up. It doesn't change them at all, it just brings out their sense of fun and Joy. Huh...guess I should've known my center a lot sooner..."

North beamed at me and nodded his head. "Center is not always known and usually has to be discovered. Once it is seen, it cannot be unseen."

"Yeah, I guess so." I chuckled out.

"Wait...back up...how did you find out you could even do that!?" Aster questioned, still on the subject of my snowball.

"Well, I was passing through New York when I saw a few people playing a game with dice, and for luck, they blew on the dice. I thought that perhaps I could do the same thing when throwing a snowball, turns out I was right. I tested it out on Emily first, and then we had a snowball fight in her domain."

"You...threw a snowball...at Mother Nature?" He asked me with a dumbfounded expression.

"She threw one at me first! It was one of my off days where I was being gloomy, so she threw a snowball at me. I did the same to her, and her eyes lit up with joy, and she began laughing as the blue sparkles covered her face."

"Mate...you're full of surprises."

"Thank you." I chuckled out. "Let's continue."

The scene blinked and it showed me watching Jamie tell Sophie about how he lost his tooth and his mother telling him he had to go to sleep or the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come, and of course, he said he would be able to do it. After a few more seconds the window started to frost, barring my view. I groaned lightly as I started walking on top of Jamie's roof, and I looked up at the moon.  _"If there's something I'm doing wrong...couldn't you just tell me what it is? Because I've tried EVERYTHING, and NO ONE ever SEES me!"_  With no answer and let out a short breath and continued.  _"YOU put me here! The LEAST you could do is tell me...tell me why!"_ Once again there was no answer. So, I let out a sigh and floated over to a telephone line wire and started walking along it, and then I saw Sandy's sand. I looked up and let down my hood with a grateful smile.  _"Right on time, Sandman!"_  I breathed out as I ran along the telephone wire. I jumped up and touched the sand, causing the dolphins to swim and jump around me, bringing me out of my depressed stupor. After that, I slowly watched as the sand drifted away, and something got my attention as it ran by with incredible speed.  _"Whoa!"_  I shouted.  _'A shadow? Here?'_  I thought to myself as I chased it, fully ready to attack.

Once I got into an alleyway, I could feel the hairs on my neck stick up as I carefully stepped as quietly as I could, and then I heard a noise behind me. I swung around and pointed my staff at the shadow leaning against the wall, but unlike the other shadows, this one spoke.  _"Hello, mate..."_  It called out as it spun something in it's hand.  _"...been a long time. Blizzard of '68 I believe. Easter Sunday wasn't it?"_

 _"Bunny!"_  I called out as I leaned up against the staff when he came out of the shadows.  _'At least it's not a shadow.'_  I thought as I gave a curious look, genuinely wondering,  _"You're not still mad about that...are ya?"_  I asked carefully yet playfully.  _'Considering I asked her to take your memories, I'm curious as to exactly what you think happened...'_

 _"Yes!"_  He told me as he leaned forward, but then his face evened out into a smirk I hadn't seen on him before. It was amusement, but also something akin to resentment.  _"But this is about something else...fellas?"_

Suddenly, I felt myself being lifted up by two yeti and stuffed inside an endless sack.  _"Magic portal?"_  I heard one ask, which was then followed by a dry laugh from Bunny.

_"Me? Not on your nelly. See ya back at the pole!"_

The scene blinks and I just got out of the sack, holding onto my staff, clutching it in anxiety and curiosity as I look around what I could only guess to be the North Pole since it was North I saw when I crawled out of the magic sack.  _"I must've done something really bad to get you four together. Am I on the Naughty list?"_  I questioned with a smirk, knowing full well from Phil, that I in fact, was.

_"Ha! ON Naughty list? You hold record! But! No matter, we overlook. Now we are wiping clean the slate."_

_"How come?"_  I questioned, not quite believing that it's as easy as them finding it in the goodness of their hearts after three hundred years. Sandy, maybe, but not the others, and especially not Bunny.

 _"Ah, good question."_  Bunny drawled out in visible irritation.

 _"How come? I tell you how come! Because now, you are Guardian!"_  Suddenly I was surrounded by noise, fire, and I didn't know which way to step so I wouldn't crush one of the elves.  _'Wait...GUARDIAN!? and...are those supposed to be MY shoes!? GUARDIAN? This is...'_  Interrupting my thoughts, North got excited about the music.  _"This is the best part!"_

Quickly growing more and more upset by the sounds and closeness, I slammed down my staff, creating a frosted floor, and Wendy wasn't too happy either.  _"And they just expect you to want to? I believe you can make it, Jack, don't get me wrong, but this is way more than a little sudden."_  She huffed out as she helped slide an elf on the frosted floor.

 _'I couldn't agree more.'_  I thought and gave them a furious glare.  _"What makes you think I wanna be a Guardian?"_

North boomed out a laugh as if I was joking, but I really wasn't. It was a genuine question.  _"Of course you do. Music!"_

 _"No music!"_  I insisted as I started getting a headache.  _"This is all very flattering, but, uh... You don't want me. You're all hard work and deadlines. And I'm...snowballs and fun times. I'm not a Guardian."_  I told them with a shrug as I sat on a control panel? Desk? I didn't really know or care at the time, but as I'm watching the memory it seemed a little of both.

 _"Ha! That's exactly what I said!"_  Bunny boasted, and for some reason it only soured my mood even more.

 _"Jack, I don't think you understand what it is we do."_  She told me as she pointed a hand at the globe.  _"Each of those lights is a child..."_

_"A child who believes. And good or bad, Naughty or Nice, we protect them."_

_"Ah...ah..."_  I complained as she found her way into my mouth...again!

 _"Tooth, fingers out of mouth."_  North practically sighed out.

_"Oh, sorry! They're beautiful!"_

_"Okay no more wishy washy, Pitch is out there doing who knows what!"_

_"You mean th-the Boogeyman?"_  I lightly chuckled out.  _'He's just a man who's scared of his own shadows, and that's all he can use anyway. Not very 'big deal' material, but okay, this should be interesting!'_

 _"Yes! When Pitch threatens us, he threatens them as well!"_  He told me as he gestured to the globe.

 _"All the more reason to pick someone more qualified!"_  I waved a hand at them as I walked away.  _'Now where's the door? I've tried to come in every way, but the front door.'_

 _"Pick?"_  I heard North ask in disbelief.  _"You think we pick!? No! You were chosen! Like we were all chosen! By Man in Moon."_

 _"What?"_  I whispered out as I turned to face them once more.

 _"Last night, Jack, he chose you."_  Tooth told me with a pleading look. A look asking me to try and understand.

 _"Maybe."_  Bunny shrugged, but I ignored it.

 _"Man in the Moon, he, uh… he talks to you?"_  I whispered out in disbelief as I looked up to the ever silent moon with hurt eyes.

 _"You see, you cannot say no. It is Destiny."_  North told me, but that meant nothing to me at the moment.

 _"W-Why, why wouldn't he tell me that himself?"_  I asked just before running a frustrated hand through my snow white hair.  _"After 300 years, this is his answer? To spend eternity like you guys, cooped up in some...some hideout, thinking of...of new ways to bribe kids? No, no, that's not for me!"_  I shouted at the moon before quickly turning to face Bunny and the others.  _"No offense."_

_"How...how...how is that not offensive? You know what I think, I...I think we just dodged a bullet. I mean what's this clown know about bringing joy to children anyway?"_

_"Uh, you ever hear of a snow day?_ " I questioned with a sly smirk.  _"I know it's no hard boiled egg, but kids like what I do."_  I confidently told him.

 _"But none of them believe in ya...Do they? Y'see, you're invisible, mate. It's like ya don't even exist."_  I nodded at him with a look of irritated acceptance as I let out a slight chuckle.  _'Kind of like your memories of '68!'_

 _"Bunny! Enough."_  Tooth scolded him.

 _"No, the kangaroo's right."_  I shot back with a look of agitated mischief.

 _"Th...the what? What'd you call me? I am not a kangaroo, mate."_  He challenged, getting closer, but two could play at that game.

 _"Oh! And this whole time I thought you were. If you're not a kangaroo, what are you?"_  I questioned harshly, the real events of the Blizzard of '68 fresh in my mind, and although I still wouldn't want him to know what really happened, I couldn't help but be reminded of it with the tone he was using and the fury in his eyes.

 _"I'm a bunny. The Easter Bunny. People believe in me."_  I stood my ground, ready for whatever else he may say, when I noticed Sandy pat North's leg.

 _"North...go talk to him."_  Sandy's gesture seemed to say.

 _"Jack, walk with me."_  He whispered out with a raised brow.


	13. Chapter 13

"Stop." I felt Aster's hand on my shoulder, so I turned my head to face him and noticed that the other Guardians had slightly guilty expressions. "What's going on?" I asked, trying to figure it out for myself.

"Gave ya a right foul welcome...didn't we? We didn't even know ya all that well, didn't bother to get to know ya...and I was...well..."

"Yeah...this isn't going to be fun for anyone..." I sighed out. "It's fine now, but you have to remember...all I had were Phil and some of the Yeti, Mother Nature, and Sandy. And even then, I very rarely saw them. I would sometimes go whole decades without seeing Mother Nature, and years without seeing Sandy, and as far as Phil goes, as the years went by, he got more busy. So, all of that sudden attention when I'm only used to it from three people...it was more than a little uncomfortable, and then you wanted me to be a Guardian right on the spot as if I was supposed to find it a high honor and immediately want to say 'yes' after being ignored by all of you but Sandy for three hundred years. I wasn't happy then...but I'm over it now."

"Still..."

"Hey, wait...while we're on this...we just saw how desperately the darkness inside Pitch wanted me dead. Why would the darkness go after all of you if it wanted me and Emily dead?"

I heard a face palm next to me and looked at Aster once again. "I think I know the answer to that, Jacky."

"Okay, would you like to share with the rest of the class?" I chuckled out, and he gave me a pointed look in return.

"Ha, ha...very funny. Well, it's because you're a child. You're immortally a child, and...do you remember what North said to Pitch at your pond after the battle?"

I nodded my eyes with my brow furrowed as I began to repeat his words, "As long as one child believes, we will be there to fight fear."

"The darkness in Pitch knew how you died, and they knew you died believin'. That alone made you an immortal child in more than just physical appearance. It made you a child in a spiritual way. Since you're still a child...and ya were made a spirit at the age of believin'...you're still very much so under the protection of the Guardians...and though we did a shoddy job at it...we're still your protectors. If we were out of the way, there would be no way we could defend you. And if he got Sandy out of the way, knowing the two of you have become close, then he would be that much closer to destroying you and everything we protect, because of how much Sandy means to you. Now, unfortunately, the darkness in Pitch isn't fool enough to reveal that part of the plan, so they made up a plane that we would believe, and believe we did."

"So...to try and kill me...the darkness tried to get rid of all of you?"

"Yeah, you were playing a big role in Pitch fighting back against the darkness, and that's why he was still in there."

"Yeah, but so did Emily, so what about her?"

"My guess is, they found out how to best go after you first. If you were gone, then that would leave Mother Nature by herself, and she would likely be torn up and heartbroken by your death if they had succeeded, and that would've made it easier to defeat her."

"Wow..." I trailed off as I ran a hand through my hair in disbelief.

"It's the only likely explanation, but maybe we'll get more out of your memories."

"Right...let's continue."

 _"Nothing personal, North..."_ I told him as the elevator came to a stop. _"What you all do, it's just...it's not my thing."_

 _"Man in Moon says it is your thing."_ He boomed as he quickly signed off on something and then I heard him mutter under his breath, _"You will see."_

 _"Slow down, would ya?"_ I asked as I excitedly looked around like a kid at Christmas, which was incredibly ironic considering where I was at. _"I've been trying to bust in here for years. I want a good look."_

_"What do you mean, bust in?"_

_"Oh, don't worry! Never got past the Yetis."_ I looked over to my right, and noticed a familiar Yeti. _"Oh hey Phil."_

 _"I will win in next snowball fight, Jack..."_ He told me and I kept the chuckle to myself as I tried to keep up with North.

 _"Keep up, Jack! Keep up!"_ He demanded, and so I rushed a little closer, and that's when I noticed that the Yeti were the ones painting, testing, and making the toys.

_"Whoa! I always thought the elves made the toys."_

_"We just let them believe that."_ He whispered to me, and if I didn't know any better, I would say he was trying to hide a laugh. _"Very nice. Keep up good work!"_ He told a few elves that had seemingly electrocuted themselves on lights, and with how North reacted, I couldn't help the smirk that appeared on my face. _'Huh...who'd have thought!'_ I thought to myself just before hearing North begin again.  _"I don't like it, paint it red."_ He told a Yeti painting blue robots and from behind me I could hear him groan in I continued to follow him I heard him shout to all of the Yeti,  _"Pick it up everybody!"_ Then, we walked into his office, and my eyes went wide. _'This is Santa's office!'_ My inner child squealed with wonder, and I tried my best to hide it, but now everyone could hear it, causing the current me to blush furiously, and I wasn't about to stop the memory. _"Fruitcake?"_

 _"Uh, no...thanks."_ I told him as I continued to look around. _'I haven't had it, and I don't want to try it. I still want to look around!'_

 _"Now we get down to tacks of brass."_ I heard him say, drawing me out of my thoughts.

 _"Tacks of...?"_ Suddenly, I heard the door close and lock behind me. I looked to ask North what was going on, but he was closing in on me until my back his the door.

_"Who are you, Jack Frost? What is your center?"_

_"My center?"_  I questioned, growing more and more agitated by the second.

 _"If Man in Moon chose you to be a Guardian, you must have something very special inside. Hmm...Here..."_ He trailed off as he grabbed a doll version of himself. _"...this is how you see me, no? Very big, intimidating... But if you get to know me a little...Well, go on."_ He told me as he practically shoved the doll into my hands.

Setting my staff aside carefully against a desk, I gave him a skeptical and curious look as I opened up the first part of the doll.  _"You are... downright jolly?"_

 _"Ah! But not just jolly!"_ I opened another. _"I am also mysterious..."_ I popped open the next one, _"...and fearless..."_ I gave him a brief curious glance as the doll kept getting smaller, and I popped open the next one. _"...and caring..."_ He said as I opened the next one. _"...and at my center..."_ I unlocked the last one and dumped it out into his hand, but then he placed it into my hands for me to examine.

_"There's a tiny wooden baby."_

_"Look closer. What do you see?"_

_"Uh...Ya have big eyes."_

_"Yes! Big eyes, very big, because they are full of wonder."_ I couldn't stop the honest smile that appeared on my face at North's Joy and Wonder as he spoke, and I held onto the little wooden baby as I watched in awe as things started to rise and float as well as light up. _"That is my center. It is what I was born with; eyes that have always seen the wonder in everything!"_ I watched as a flying toy flew past a tree, and I felt something light up in my chest as the tree lit up while the door opened to allow the toy out. _"Eyes that see lights in the trees, and magic in the air..." We walked out of his office, and I stayed still long enough to take in the true wonder of his workshop as I looked up, and I found it extremely beautiful. "...this wonder is what I put into the world! And what I protect in children. It is what makes me a Guardian. It is my center."_ He turned to look at me, and I turned to look at him with a better idea of who he was, but only slightly. _"What is yours?"_

 _"I don't know."_ I told him honestly and he nodded his head at me just before covering my hands with his large and comforting hands, closing my fingers around the small doll, silently telling me to hold on to it.

I wanted to say something, but then we both heard Bunny running towards us, and he seemed worried. _"We have a problem, mate. Trouble at the Tooth Palace."_

The scene blinked and suddenly we were heading towards where I heard North say there was a sleigh.  _"North, I told you! I'm not going with you guys! There is no way I am climbing into some rickety old...sleigh..."_  I trialed off, not believing my eyes as the reign deer came out and were kicking and bucking, but behind them, they pulled something that was incredible, and not at all what I expected.  _"Okay. One ride, but that's it."_  I was not about to miss an opportunity to ride in it, so I immediately jumped in.

 _"Everyone loves the sleigh!"_  He smirked, but then seemed to noticed that Bunny didn't want to get in.  _"Bunny! What are you waiting for?"_  He asked as he grabbed the reigns, and all I could do was think,  _'Yeah, Bunny, c'mon! It'll be fun! Let's go!'_

 _"I think my tunnels might be faster, mate...and, um, and safer."_  He tried to tell North, but he wasn't having it.

 _"Ack! Get in!"_  He demanded as he grabbed Bunny by the scruff and practically threw him into the back with me and Sandy.  _"Buckle up!"_

"Whoa whoa!" He started to panic, and my wonder quickly turned into amusement and mischief as ideas started to form in my head about how to mess with Bunny once we were in the air.  _"Where're the bloody seat belts?"_

 _"Ha! That was just expression."_  He laughed out and clutched the reigns tighter. "Are we ready?" He asked, and deliberately ignored the Yeti as he excitedly shouted,  _"Let's go!"_  He cracked the reigns and we were off.  _"Out of the way!"_  He shouted as we rushed through the tunnels, and I couldn't even bare to contain my excitement as I kept my balance, standing on the sleigh as the reign deer pulled it along with great speed. I heard North laugh and watched as he pulled a lever, causing us to go upside down, and somehow we still had gravity.  _"I hope you like the loop-de-loops!"_

Bunny looked about ready to throw up as he shot back,  _"I hope you like carrots."_

Once we were in the air, both North and I cheered. After we leveled out, I looked at the North Pole that quickly started shrinking in the distance, and then I finally had the idea I wanted as I looked down to one of the sleigh's skis.  _"Hey Bunny, check out this view...Whoa!"_  I shouted as I pretended to fall out of the sleigh, but laid myself in a mischievous manner on the ski, waiting for Bunny, and I let out a silent chuckle at his reaction, because it was almost instantaneous.

_"Oh! Oh! North! He's, he...ah uh!..."_

Once he saw me, I gave him a cocky and mischievous grin as I said,  _"Awe, you do care."_

_"Oh, rack off, ya bloody show pony!"_

At Bunny's words, I put myself back in the sleigh and listened to what North had to say.  _"Hold on everyone, I know a shortcut!"_

 _"Oh! Oh, strewth! I knew we should have taken the tunnels!"_  Bunny complained as he seemed to sink even further into the woodwork.

I watched as North took out a snow globe, and then noticed he sent a smirk directly at me as he shook the snow globe. "I say...Tooth Palace." He threw the snow globe and to my immediate surprise, a portal similar to Emily's appeared, but it was different in a way as well.  _"Hyah!"_  He shouted as he cracked the whips again, and we shot through the portal, but then we all saw strange black creatures floating around.  _"What?"_  I heard him whisper out in confusion and shock.

 _"Whoa!"_ I shouted as they flew past. The more I saw pass us, the more I noticed they were chasing and chomping on something. Then, my eyes widened with realization. _"They're taking the tooth fairies!"_ I shouted just before noticing that there was a fairy desperately trying to get away. Without thinking, I shot up and quickly yet carefully grabbed her. _"Hey little Baby Tooth, you okay?"_

 _"Yes, Thank you, Jack."_ She chirped to me

I heard Tooth gasp next to me so I commanded the vision to stop. Then, I turned towards her with a confused and concerned expression. "Tooth? You alright?"

"That's why she looks different!" Tooth gasped again as she placed her hands over her mouth.

"What do you mean?"

"Have you not noticed that the fairy you saved has one blue eye and one pink eye?"

"I mean, yeah...I kind of noticed it after I saved her from the horses, but..."

"You gave her a name, Jack. None of my fairies have names. They are either called Tooth Fairies, Miniature Fairies, or just Fairies. I started calling her that, because that's what she asked of me...I was confused but...Jack None of them have names. Names are important. All of my fairies are extensions of myself...I may be like their mother, but none of them have names...except..."

"Except when I called her Baby Tooth..." I trialed off as realization started to dawn on me. "...I'm so sorry, Tooth."

"Don't be. I should've guessed with how her eyes were a different color, and with how much she was clinging to you...and not me. Names are precious, Jack...and so is my fairy...you gave her a name...and she's been clinging to you since you saved her...Jack...I need to ask you to do something for me."

"What is it?" I asked as I started to get about Tooth.

"She'll likely never be a normal fairy. Not a um...not a normal Tooth Fairy at least. She'll still be able to use and activate tooth boxes, but I don't think she'll be able to be a Tooth Fairy for very long. You see...they are basically miniature versions of me, and that's why they don't have names. Now, it's never happened before, but I feel it in my heart...I feel it my heart that she will grow as if she were born like a human...but a human with wings and is a fairy...She'll need someone very close to her to look after her as if..."

"Wait a minute..." I interrupted as I started to piece two and two together. "...are you asking me...?"

"I'm asking you to do something that will definitely be a lot to ask especially since you're immortally fourteen, but I won't be able to look after her, my fairies, and the children of the world...I can't be mama Tooth to her while she grows and becomes extremely different from her sisters...and do everything else. I will always want to see her, and I hope that you'll let me...but you gave her a name so..."

"So...what...I'm basically her father now?"

Tooth seemed to flinch, but she nodded slowly. "Basically. She'll probably turn into a winter fairy."

"A winter fairy? I've never seen one."

"Then, I take it you've never met the snow queen...?"

"Oh, her I've met!" I said bitterly. "She tried to get me to be her husband."

"SHE WHAT!?" Everyone shouted.

"Yeah...it was back in the late 1700's. She tried again in the mid 1900's, but Emily made it clear to her that I did not want what she was offering, and she hasn't bothered me since."

"Ah...well..." Tooth started as she grew a blush that honestly looked great with her eyes.  _'Focus Jack!'_  I berated myself as I remembered that Tooth was a bit upset about the whole name thing. "...she has fairies. They are known as lesser sprites, and they have their own unique powers where they can affect nature with winter in small ways...but they are winter fairies none the less. Baby Tooth will be different though..."

"How?" Aster asked, and I had to agree with the question, because with everything she was saying, I was still stunned that she was asking me to be the father...and that I basically already was, because I gave her a name.

"Because, she will grow like normal human. The snow queen's fairies stay small forever, but I noticed when Jack came back with her...that she was slightly bigger than before, and one of her eyes was still ice blue despite me being believed in again. She will grow like a normal human, but she will be a fairy at the same time. She'll change in other ways too, but I don't know what those ways might be. All I know is that she doesn't belong to me anymore and that she'll grow like a normal human...likely until she hits either Jack's same age or eighteen. Then, and only then...will she stop aging. So...Jack...will um..."

"Will I...raise her as if she were my own daughter even though I'm physically fourteen? Is that what you're asking me?" Tooth lowered her head and nodded as her eyes looked to the floor. I smiled and felt the familiar movement in my hoodie, and watched as Baby Tooth flew out of my hood, earning the gasps from the other Guardians. Everyone but Tooth seemed to notice her. Baby Tooth really was bigger than her sisters, and she really did still have different colored eyes. I also noticed that she seemed to be gaining bluer colors as well. She then flew over to Tooth and flew under her face, earning a gasp from Tooth.

"When did you get here!? You've been here the whole time?" Tooth questioned quickly as her eyes stared at Baby Tooth in shock.

"I snuck in with Jack!" She chirped happily.

"Whoa! How can we understand her!?" Bunny questioned in shock.

"It must be because of Jack's gift and we are still going through his memories. Different things can get affected on memory trip...you know this well Bunny."

"R-Right...well...this is weird..."

"I agree, but shh!"

"You snuck in?"

"Yes! I've been hiding in his hoodie this whole time. He let me stay in his hoodie, and I watched the memories as quietly as I could! I asked him when we were on our way to see his memories if he wanted me to go, and he said I could stay as long as I stayed super quiet!" She then flew up to me and twirled happily. "Did I do good, daddy!?"

"D-Daddy!?"

"Yeah! You named me! So that's what you are to me now! So, did I do good, Daddy!?"

I chuckled and gave her a soft smile. "You did great!" I congratulated her, and just behind her I noticed a small smile on Tooth as a tear rolled down her face. "Tooth?"

"I'm fine, Jack...happy even...but um...you never told me your answer."

"Oh! Well..." I looked at Baby Tooth, knowing that she heard the whole thing and I smiled at them both. I held my hand out for Baby Tooth to land in, and she did so with all the confidence a growing fairy could muster. I gave a quick sly smirk to Tooth, and earned a confused expression in return before I looked back at Tooth, and even though I was incredibly nervous I also felt more confident than before. "It's a good thing I like your mom a lot then, huh?"

"Y-You w-what?" Tooth stuttered out as I watched her feathers ruffle slightly at my words, and a beautiful blush crept on her face.

"I like you, Tooth. A lot."

"L-Like...um..." She stopped flying and was now standing in front of me. "Uh..."

 _'Okay...time to be as confident as I can be...'_  I thought with pure nervousness as I walked closer to Tooth. I felt my heart hammering in my chest, and my breathing slowed dangerously, but I maintained most of my confidence as she stared at me wide eyed when I was practically toe to toe with her. I leaned down and kissed her on the lips, sending an electrical feeling all over my body. After a few seconds, I ended the kiss and stepped back. "Like...a lot." I told her with a smirk, but on the inside I was screaming in embarrassment. I had wanted to do that since Jamie's, but I never did, because I was too nervous and thought it was completely strange that I seemed to like her like that so suddenly and seemingly after I saw her for the first time, but then I remembered something Cupid had said, and it made sense now. She told me,  _'Your love will be love by word. You will hear about them and fall in love. They will also be your true love. Good Luck.'_  It was just in passing, but I'm glad she told me. Suddenly, Tooth started to drop to her knees. "Tooth!?" I asked as I quickly grabbed her and helped her the rest of the way down. "A-Are you alright? I'm sorry..."

"N-No...d-don't b-be...don't be s-sorry. I...oh my...I...You kissed me...I...I was kissed b-by a-a prince and...Y-You...kissed me...I..."

"Mate, I think ya broke the Tooth Fairy." Aster chuckled as he crossed his arms.

"Wh-What?" I asked in slight alarm.

"Tooth, do you want to tell him, or should I?" He grinned at me mischievously.

"T-Tell me what?" I asked as I turned my gaze back to Tooth who was now furiously blushing, and her blush nearly matched her eye color. My eyes went wide as I filled in some gaps, but whether they were right or wrong was a different question. "Tooth...do you...um...do you like me like that...too?" I gained a squeak of embarrassment while her eyes went wide as the answer to my questioned. "Um...for how long?"

"I...uh..."

"Since she's heard about your existence, and your white teeth, and your mischievousness. So we'll say roughly around a hundred and fifty years give or take." Bunny answered, and I could tell it was taking everything he had to not laugh.

Meanwhile, I looked at Tooth and noticed she was sending embarrassed death glares to him. "My mischievousness? Usually that's not my most attractive trait." I told her as I crouched down to look her in the eyes, but her's only widened even further, and the blush deepened if possible.

"I-I...I like it..." She gave a nervous shrug, causing me to smile. "I...when my fairies told me about you...and the things they've seen you do...the way you are with the children even though they couldn't see you...and they told me about your teeth...I...I felt foolish...foolish for having fallen in love from just hearing about you, but I did...and then you were named Guardian and I...well...you saw..."

"Y-You...fell in love? With me? Just from what they told you about me?"

"I-I know...it's foolish but I..."

"No...it's the same for me!" I told her.

"Um...wh-who told you about me?"

Sandy then stepped between us with a guilty look on his face as he lifted up his sand symbols.  _"He asked about the Guardians...and so I told him. He wanted to know what we were like. I told him North was a good man, jolly, fierce, sneaky, intelligent, honorable, and that he loves bringing wonder to the children and takes great pride and Joy in his holiday. I told him that Bunny was very methodical, a workaholic, a good old friend of mine, a bit testy, headstrong, and also loves the children. I then told him that you're a real fairy with beautiful green and blue feathers, a fierce fighter, determined, headstrong, caring, strong, and that you are free spirited even though your job mostly demands you to be otherwise. He asked me more about you and so I told him a few things about your own mischievous nature. He admired you a lot, but I didn't think he loved you."_  He then turned to me with a risen brow and slight smirk.

"I um...well...it stayed as me admiring you...until I actually met you and got to know you personally..."

"O-Oh...S-So...what now?" She asked me as she slowly brought herself back on her feet.

"Uh well..." I started, but then Baby Tooth happily flew between us.

"Mama and Daddy could become boyfriend and girlfriend!"

"I...I don't see no reason why not." I told Baby Tooth, who then twirled and chirped happily before resting on my shoulder. I looked at Tooth and put a hand over my heart as I lightly bowed. "Would you please be my girlfriend Tooth?" I asked as I stood up with a wide smile on my face.

"I-I w-would love to!" She then flew towards me and spun around me exactly like she did after the battle, but this time she kissed me.

Once the kiss ended I was left a grinning fool and she was still blushing. "YAY!" Baby Tooth cheered out as she circled around us both.

"Congrats you two." Aster said as he clapped me on the back and then for some reason sent a small death glare to Tooth. "Now, Tooth...not that I believe ya will, but he  _is_  my nephew..."

"I won't hurt him! I swear!"

"Yeah, well...in his memories...the three of us already did, and we're gonna have to watch that...but just as long as it doesn't happen again..."

"I...I promise!"

"Good!" He then looked at me with a proud smile. "Got yourself quite the gal, Jacky."

"I know!" I said confidently. "Oh!" I said as I turned to face Tooth once more. "...and to fully answer your question, yes. I will raise Baby Tooth as my own, and you can see her whenever you want."

"I'll always come and visit Mama!"

"G-Good." She told baby tooth before looking at me. "Thank you, Jack. You have no idea what this means to me...all of it."

"Well, then I guess I'll have to learn, huh?"

"Y-Yes!"

"However...I did notice you blushing at my Uncle Aster when he turned into a human." She blushed even deeper and her eyes widened in alarm.

"Y-Yes well...he is...rather um...rather handsome...but I..."

"You know I can't compete with that...ever...I'll always be like this."

"I-I know! I'll love you just the same! I..." Seemingly realizing what she just said as my face suddenly flushed at her words, she gasped and covered her mouth.

"So, I'm enough?" I asked, trying to quell my nerves.

"M-More than enough! I swear! Bunny just caught me off guard that's all."

"Tooth...Tooth." I called her trying to calm her down. "I'm not worried about it. I trust you...and I love you too."

"I...oh...thank goodness. I um...let's keep going...shall we?"

I smiled at her and we all turned to face the vision again. "Continue."

 _"Here, take over!"_  North told me as he handed me the reigns.

 _"Huh?"_ I questioned as I felt the leather in my hands. _'Are you serious!? Hell yeah!'_ I thought as I cracked the reigns. _"Hyah!"_

_"They're stealing the teeth!" I heard Bunny shout._

_"Jack, look out!"_ North warned me as we were about to crash. I pulled on the reigns and landed ungracefully, but landed none the less.  _"Tooth! Are you alright?"_ He urgently asked as he jumped up to meet her along with Sandy and Bunny while I stayed by the sleigh for the moment.

 _"They...they took my fairies, and the teeth, all of them. Everything is gone. Everything..."_ She trailed off as she stopped flying and was on her knees with a disheartened expression.

 _"Mama Tooth!"_ Baby Tooth shouted as she came out of my hoodie.

_"Ah! Oh thank goodness, one of you is alright."_

**_"I have to say...this is very, very exciting. The Big Four, all in one place. I'm a little starstruck. Did you like my show on the globe, North? Gotcha all together, didn't I?" Pitch_  **taunted them while the real Pitch was screaming on the inside at the same time, _'Don't use them to get to Jack! The children need them! Don't hurt them! Don't hurt Jack!' Then the evil voice shot back quickly, **'It is THAT child that is keeping us from FULL control! We've tried the normal methods, now we have to resort to more drastic, more spiritually painful ones, and in the process your precious daughter will lose her friend and ally!'**_

 _"Pitch! You have got thirty seconds to return my fairies...!"_ Tooth growled out as she flew after him.

**_"Or what? You'll stick a quarter under my pillow?"_ **

_"Why are you doing this?"_

**_"Maybe, I want what you have. To be believed in! Maybe I'm tired of hiding under beds!" He_**  growled out.  _'No!'_  Pitch shouted on the inside.  _'You're doing this so you can try and kill my children!'_  He screamed, but the darkness laughed at him even more.  _ **'Well, if I get believed in at the same time...win-win.'**_

_"Maybe that's where you belong!"_

_**"Go suck an egg, rabbit."**_ He retorted as he slunk in and out of the shadows. Meanwhile I was on my guard, knowing his games with his shadows. Then, he noticed me.  _ **"** **Hang on. Is that...Jack Frost? Since when are you all so chummy?"**_ He questioned while cackling on the inside.  _ **'How remarkably delightful! He's with them, and the only reason why he would be with them is...'**  _The real Pitch gasped in astonishment. '...is if he was made a Guardian...' He breathed out in his own mind.  _ **'That's right! Oh this will be such fun!'**_

_"We're not."_

**_"Oh good, a neutral party. Then I'm going to ignore you, but you must be used to that by now."_ **

_"Pitch! You shadow-sneaking ratbag! Come 'ere!"_ Bunny shouted as he started going after him, but once he slunk back into the shadows, Tooth pulled the boomerang off of Bunny's back and went after him herself to defend her fairies. Suddenly a large black horse erupted from no where, shocking Tooth into halting her attack, and making me narrow my eyes at it.  _'That's...that's not a shadow...'_ I thought as I glared at it.

**_"Whoa ho ho ho, hey! Easy girl, easy. Heh Look familiar, Sandman? Took me awhile to perfect this little trick; turning dreams into nightmares. Don't be nervous; it only riles them up more. They smell fear, you know."_ **

_"What fear? Of you?"_ Bunny asked as he took his boomerang back from Tooth. _"No one's been afraid of you since the Dark Ages!"_

**_"Oh, the Dark Ages! Everyone frightened, miserable, such happy times for me - oh the power I wielded! But then the Man in the Moon chose you to replace my fear with your wonder and light. Lifting their hearts and giving them hope. Meanwhile everyone wrote me off as just a bad dream. Oh there's nothing to be afraid of! There's no such thing as The Boogeyman! Well that's all about to change. Oh look, it's happening already."_ **

_"What is?"_ I asked as I noticed the palace was starting to lose it's beautiful color.

**_"Children are waking up and realizing the Tooth Fairy never came. It's such a little thing, but to a child..."_ **

_"What's going on?"_ I asked Tooth as my heart started to pound with worry.

_"They...They don't believe in me anymore."_

**_"Didn't they tell you, Jack? It's great being a Guardian! But there's a catch. If enough kids stop believing, everything your friends protect...wonder, hopes, and dreams...it all goes away. And little by little, so do they. No Christmas, or Easter, or little fairies that come in the night. There will be nothing but fear, and darkness...and me."_** He told them as he thought right after, ** _'Because after I end you, I will end Jack, then Emily, and finally, Kozmotis!'_** He quickly continued and added, ** _"It's your turn not to be believed in!"_**

Almost immediately Bunny threw a boomerang at him, and he dove down with his nightmare horse to avoid it, but we chased after him. Once we landed on the ground, I briefly noticed North's frustration as he said, _"He's gone."_

_"Okay, alright, I admit it. You were right about Pitch."_

_"This is one time..."_ I heard them argue, but I couldn't be bothered to care while Tooth was hurting so much.

_"I'm sorry about the Fairies..."_

_"You should've seen them. They put up such a fight."_

_"Why would Pitch take the teeth?"_ I questioned curiously.

_"It's not the teeth he wanted, it's the memories inside them."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"That's why we collect the teeth, Jack. They hold the most important memories of childhood. My fairies and I watch over them. And when someone needs to remember what's important, we help them. We had everyone's here. Yours too."_

_"My memories?"_ I asked.  _'How could she have my memories when I haven't lost any teeth?'_

_"From when you were young. Before you became Jack Frost."_

_"But, I-I wasn't anyone before I was Jack Frost."_

_"Well of course you were. We were all someone before we were chosen."_

_"What?"_ I breathed out in disbelief.

_"You should have seen Bunny!"_

_"Hey I told you to never mention that!"_ I heard them argue once again, and once again I couldn't bring myself to care as I quickly understood what Tooth was telling me.

_"The night at the pond, I just...Why, I assumed...Are you saying, are you saying I had a life? Before that, w-with a, with a home!? And...and a family!?"_

_"You really don't remember?"_ She asked me her voice laced with pure concern and confusion.

_"All these years the answers were right here...If I find my memories, then I'll know why I'm here. Ya have to show me!"_

_"I-I can't, Jack. Pitch has them."_

I stopped in mid-air with newfound excitement and determination as I turned around and said, _"Then we have to get them back!"_

_"Oh no...The children...We're too late."_

_"No!"_ North shouted as he slammed down his swords in the air. _"No! No such thing as too late!"_ I flew over and landed on a rock and waited for whatever idea he was going to have. _"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! Idea! Ha!"_ He pointed his swords at Bunny who had to lean back quite a ways. _'A little bit too close there, North.'_ I thought to myself as a smile grew on my face.  _"We! Will collect the teeth!"_

 _"What?"_ She asked with a dropped jaw.

 _"We get teeth, children keep believing in you."_ North clarified, and I had to admit, it sounded like a good idea.

_"We're talking seven continents...millions of kids!"_

_"Give me break, you know how many toys I deliver in one night?" North said with a proud smile._

_"And eggs I hide in one day?" Bunny added._

_"And Jack, if you help us, we will get you your memories."_

_'Tooth gets believed in again, AND I get my memories!?'_ I questioned with excitement as a determined smirk appeared on my face. _"I'm in!"_


	14. Chapter 14

_"Hop to it, Rabbit! I'm five teeth ahead!"_  I told him as I kept up with him. He may not have liked me, but as I flew beside him, I realized we had something in common. We loved running, flying, racing, and the thrill of the wind rushing past us.

_"Yeah right! Look, I'd tell ya to stay out of my way, but really what's the point? 'Cause you won't be able to keep up anyway!"_

_'Is he seriously...?'_  My eyes went wide and my heart lit up with Joy at the implication of his words.  _"Is that a challenge, Cottontail?"_

His smirk grew dangerously into a wicked grin.  _"Ooh, you don't wanna race a rabbit, mate." He laughed out as he sped up and went from house to house._

 _"Whoa!"_  I shouted in surprise. Then, I heard North's voice grow with excitement and my heart felt warm as everyone started to have fun.

_"Is it a race? Is it a race? This is going to be epic!"_

_"Four bicuspids over there! An incisor two blocks east! Is that a molar? They're everywhere!"_  She shouted excitedly as I watched her accidentally slam into a sign, making me wince.  _"Ugh!"_

_"You okay?" I asked her out of pure concern. 'Please say you're okay...that looked like it hurt...'_

_"I'm fine!"_ She told me as she rolled her eyes and let go of her nose. _"Sorry..."_ She told me as she flew up to me. _'Wow...beautiful...'_ I thought briefly before she started to continue. _"...it's been a really long time since I've been out in the field."_

 _"How long is a long time?"_ I wondered with a smirk.

 _"Four hundred and forty years, give or take?"_ She answered shyly before she squealed and went after another Tooth.

I glanced over at Baby Tooth with a questioning look and she shrugged, showing a hint of embarrassment. _"Hey don't look at me! She overworks herself."_

We continued to watch the vision showing us racing and then it showed us holding our bags up proudly, only for Tooth to tell us to go back and leave gifts. After we competed at doing that, the vision sent us to where Tooth and I were in Jamie's room.  _"Left central incisor, knocked out in a freak sledding accident. I wonder how that could have happened, Jack?"_  She told me with a risen brow and a knowing look.

I chuckled lightly as I looked at Jamie's drawing of the sledding incident.  _"Kids, huh?"_

I watched as Tooth spun a coin through her fingers without any hesitation or error as she gave me a smirk, and then she slipped it under his pillow. She then hovered over him to look at his sleeping face.  _"This was always the part I liked most...seeing the kids."_  She crossed her arms and let out a sigh while I crouched down next to the bed.  _"Why did I ever stop doing this?"_

_"Hmm. Looks a little different up close, huh?"_

She gave me a quick and appreciative smile as she flew towards me. "Thanks _for being here, Jack. I wish I'd known about your memory. I could of helped you."_

 _"Yeah, well, look let's just get you taken care of, then it's Pitch's turn."_ I told her with determination.

 _"Here you are!"_ I heard North say as he squeezed through Jamie's window.

 _"Ssh!"_ Tooth scolded him as she pointed at Jamie.

 _"Oh!"_ North breathed out as he immediately understood. _"What gives, slowpokes? How you feeling, Toothy?"_

_"Believed in."_

North grinned from ear to ear as he lightly nodded his head.  _"Hah! That's what I want to hear."_

 _"Oh, I see how it is. All working together to make sure the rabbit gets last place."_ Bunny said as he hopped out of his hole.

 _"Ssh!"_ North and Tooth scolded him next.

 _"Uh, you think I need help to beat a bunny?"_ I took out my bag of teeth and shook it at him. _"Check it out, Peter Cottontail!"_

 _"You call that a bag'a choppers?"_ He then took out his bag which was admittedly bigger than mine. _"Now that's a bag'a choppers."_

 _"Gentlemen, gentlemen, this is about Tooth, it's not a competition...but if it was..." North slammed down his bag which was indeed the largest, and gave a victorious smile. "I win! YEE-HA!"_ A flashlight clicked and shined on North and all of his dancing stopped. I stared to look at an awake Jamie and heard North squeak, _"Oh no."_

_"Santa Claus? the Easter Bunny? Sandman! the Tooth Fairy! I knew you'd come!"_

_"Surprise! We came!"_

_"He can see us?"_ I asked, feeling a twinge of hope and excitement which Bunny must've caught onto, because he was the one that leaned over and answered my question.

 _"Most of us."_ He told me, and I began to frown. _'Right...of course...it can't be that easy now can it...?'_

 _"Ssh, you guys! He's still awake!"_ Tooth mentioned.

 _"Sandy, knock him out!"_ Sandy nodded his head and pounded his fist together, and it seemed I was the only one that knew he was joking because Bunny rolled his eyes and breathed out, _"With the dream sand, ya Gumbies!"_ At Bunny's voice, the dog in the room woke up and began growling at Bunny.

_"No stop, that's the Easter Bunny! What're you doing, Abby? Down!"_

_"Alright, nobody panic."_

_"But that's a um, that's a greyhound. Do you know what greyhounds do to rabbits?"_

_"Well I think it's a pretty safe bet he's never met a rabbit like me. Six-foot-one, nerves of steel, Master of Tai Chi, and..."_  As both Sandy and I grew quickly irritated with his boasting I tapped my staff against the alarm clock, setting off Abbey the Greyhound.  _"...Crikey!"_

_"Stop! Wait! Slow down!"_

I watched with great amusement as Sandy had accidentally lost the ball, and it started hitting everyone until they were all out. As North plopped onto Jamie's bed, it launched the kid into the air, and straight into Sandy's arms.  _"Whoops."_  I said as I then noticed Bunny's carrots grew arms and legs and started using the candy canes of North's dream as a dancing tool.  _"Oh I really wish I had a camera right now."_  Suddenly I heard a bray behind me. I turned around as fast as I could, and noticed a nightmare horse was just outside the window. I quickly went after it and shouted out to Sandy,  _"Sandy, come on! We can find Pitch!"_

Sandy stepped over Tooth and looked back at the others with a thoughtful glance.  _"Should I stay and wake them up?"_  He thought to himself, and I didn't know he had thought it.  _"Nah! They'll be fine."_  He thought as he jumped out the window."

"Jack?" Bunny asked me.

"Stop." I told the vision. "I can hear Sandy's thoughts too...I just don't know how though, because I wasn't able to at first..." I mentioned as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Sandy?" North questioned curiously and concernedly as he crossed his arms.

 _"I..."_  Sandy started with his symbols as he turned to me.  _"...may have...I may have given you the ability to understand my thoughts...on accident."_

"And how did that happen?"

_"Well...typically...once someone touched the dream sand they start getting drowsy or fall asleep, because once it's touched the sand searches for the eyes of the one that touched it, but because you're a spirit and I didn't put it directly into your eyes...and I continued to ALLOW you to play with the dream sand...it kind of became a part of you too. Not in the same way it is with me, but it's why you can hear my thoughts."_

"Why didn't you tell me?"

_"Honestly? I have no idea. It just never came up, and I liked the company..."_

"Alright...I can understand that."

_"Thank you, Jack."_

"You're welcome." I smiled at him confidently. "Let's continue."

 _"Pretty!"_  She said in awe of the snow globe. She then noticed Bunny sleeping on North's arm and immediately got excited.  _"Bunny! Hop hop hop! Ooh!"_  She said the last word as she tripped over Abbey and the snow globe fell out of her hands. She stared at the portal with the light of it reflecting into her eyes and she walked through without any hesitation as she continued to giggle.

The scene blinked to Sandy catching up to me.  _"Having fun Jack!?"_  He laughed out at me through his thoughts.

 _"Yes!"_  I told him with a hard chuckle. We both separated at some point and I chased down a nightmare all the way to a roof, and shot electric ice at it.  _"I-I got it! Sandy! Did you see that!?"_  I jumped up to look at it and when my staff hit it, more static came off of it.  _"Look at this thing."_

 _ **"Frost?"**  _I heard from behind me and shot electric ice towards the voice, but it darted out of the way.  _ **"You know, for a neutral party, you spend an awful lot of time with those weirdos."**  _He practically growled out, but in a calmer voice, told me,  _ **"This isn't your fight, Jack."**_  He sent a slight smirk as he stood there while Pitch screamed on the inside,  _'You bastards! How dare you lie to him! You want to kill him!'_

_"You made it my fight when you stole those teeth!"_

_**"Teeth? Why do you care about the teeth?"**_  He looked to his side and noticed Sandy, but seemed to be a bit jumpy around him.  _ **"Now this is who I'm looking for."**_

Sandy brought out his sand whips and Pitch dodges them, eventually bringing out his giant scythe. Sandy caught the scythe's handle and jerked Pitch into the air, then down into the street below, forcing Pitch to bounce off of a car roof and into the street.  _"Remind me not to get on your bad side."_  We both made our way down to the street, and I can't remember the last time Sandy was ever this mad.

 _ **"Okay, easy! You can't blame me for trying, Sandy! You don't know what it's like to be weak, and hated! It was stupid of me, to mess with your dreams."**_  We watched as he stands himself up, holding a finger up.  _ **"So, I'll tell you what..."**_  He then looked at us with a dangerous overconfident smirk.  _ **"You can have them back."**_  He spat out, and Pitch on the inside was still trying to fight.  _'No! Sanderson! Protect Jack! There's too many!'_

The nightmares started to surround us, and we stood back to back.  _"You...take the ones on the left, I'll take the ones on the right?"_  Sandy shrugged at me before turning his attention to  _ **Pitch.**_

 _ **"Boo!"**_ **Pitch**  says and instantly the nightmares took off after us. We start to fight them, but North's sleigh passed overhead, crashing into things, and apparently, North, Tooth, and Bunny kept dozing off due to the Dream sand. After another scrape on the top of a building, they all woke up again.

Sandy then used his sand to burst into the air like a rocket taking off, holding onto me tightly just before throwing me into the air.  _"GO JACK! FIGHT!"_ I knocked a few Nightmares away, but I fell a little before Tooth picked me back up and we both went spiraling through Nightmare horses.

Bunny jumped off the sleigh, attacking during free fall, before landing on the street to slash through some Nightmare horses as he threw his boomerang at them and bashed them with his feet. Then, he jumped back into the air to latch onto the sleigh, and to my surprise he started driving while North started to attack with his swords from the front. While they were doing that, two Nightmare horses came after me, so I just dropped through the air and let them run into each other. Another Nightmare horse attacked and hit me in the side, forcing me to lose my staff. I felt a sharp and horrible pain as I started falling and realized that I was indeed falling, and I couldn't fly, so I started grasping for it during my free fall. Once I caught it I landed back on the sleigh. Once my feet were firmly planted I heard Bunny to the side of me.  _"You might wanna duck."_  I looked to where his gaze was going, and quickly ducked like he said as his boomerang came careening back through a Nightmare horse, and with widened eyes, I watched him catch it out of thin air, giving me the most confident grin I had ever seen.

Meanwhile, I looked up and noticed Sandy was on his own on his sand cloud, being surrounded by Nightmare sand.  _"We gotta help Sandy!"_  North drove the sleigh towards Sandy immediately

 _ **Pitch**_  then pulled the string of an invisible bow, using an arrow shaped out of black sand and aimed at Sandy. Once he released it, it hit Sandy right between the shoulder blades.  _"NO!"_  Without thinking I launched myself off the sleigh and towards Sandy.

 _ **Pitch**_  started laughing manically as he said,  _ **"Don't fight the fear, little man."**_

 _"Hurry! Hurry!"_  North told me, and I sped up as much as I could.

 _ **"I'd say sweet dreams, but there aren't any left." Pitch**_  told him, but on the inside the real Pitch was shouting,  _'NO! SANDERSON! HOW DARE YOU KILL HIM!?'_  He shouted to the darkness, but it merely laughed at him.  _ **'It tears their will to go on and your own. I'm trying to get rid of you, remember? Hurry up and relinquish control, and you won't be tormented anymore while I gain full control.'**_

Sandy stood up, closed his eyes, and the swirling black sand closed in on his glowing yellow light, snuffing it out.  _"Sandy?"_  North gasped in shock.

 _"No...NO!"_  I shouted, but in the memory, at my shout, I could hear Pitch thinking,  _'NO! JACK! DON'T! HE JUST KILLED SANDY! YOU CAN'T...!'_  His words died off as the nightmares enclosed around me, and I created a sonic boom with all the fury and wrath I had. I glowed so bright it almost looked like daylight in the middle of the sky. Then, I slammed my hands together, and could hear Pitch gasp,  _'Jack!?'_

I started falling back, slightly unconscious, but I could still hear North shout in complete and utter worry,  _"Jack!"_  Tooth caught me as I fell, and she set me down in the sleigh

 _"Jack, h-how did you do that?"_  She questioned as she quickly looked me over and especially at my staff.

 _"I...I-I didn't know I could."_ I told her honestly as I looked at my staff in shock.


	15. Chapter 15

The scene blinked to me sitting against the window, and just as I raised my pinky to the glass, I told the vision to stop and I turned to face Sandy, who wasn't told at all what happened. "Are you um...okay?" I asked him as I watched him look at the memory version of me with wide eyes. He walked over to the other me, and sat in front of me on the same windowsill couch, and stared at me in amazement as he began to hold up symbols.

_"Bunny...with what we know of Jack's past now, you know what that blast from Jack was. Don't you?"_

I looked to Aster, and he briefly looked at me as his eyes quickly widened before darting back to Sandy. "I...I didn't even think about it..."

"Didn't even think about what? Sandy...do you know what that blast was?"

_"It was all you."_

"Yeah, I gathered that, Sandy. I was the only to make a blast like-"

 _"No."_  He quickly interrupted, looking at me with concerned and guilty expression that somehow still held a smile.  _"You misunderstand."_  He told me and conjured a dream cloud so he could speak with me eye to eye.  _"I didn't mean that the blast was all you. Not in the way you think I mean at least."_

"Then...what was it?"

 _"First...I need you to answer three questions for me, and see if you can figure it out for yourself. Can you do that for me, Jack?"_  He asked with a small smile.

"Yeah..." I told him as my eyes narrowed at him with concern of my own.

_"Okay, first question, and please keep in mind that they may sound very personal, but I would like for you to answer anyway..."_

"Okay...first question?"

_"Right...What did you feel when you watched me die?"_

"Like...everything?"

_"Absolutely everything, even if it's physical."_

"Alright, well...when I watched you disappear...I...almost in an instant my heart and soul ached as if they were being physically crushed and stomped on. I was so angry. Angrier than I had ever been before, and I wanted him to hurt just as badly. No...I wanted him to hurt more. I wanted you back, I wanted it to all be a bad dream, and I wanted my best friend by my side again. I felt all of that up until Pitch's nightmare sand attacked me. Then, it was like I felt everything at once, and my heart and soul...my magic too...it was like it was all singing and roaring and...somehow connecting with everything. Like it connected the singing and roaring to my heart and soul, and every emotion I felt was on fire. I felt fury, rage, mournfulness, helplessness, hopelessness, and heartache. My magic...it roared through my veins. That's the only way I can explain it, but it roared through my veins and that's when I started glowing, making electric ice to not just come from my staff...but it was coming from everywhere. Then...it was like a ball formed in my core, and I instantly knew what to do. I focused all of the roaring as well as my heart and soul into the attack and I clapped my hands together."

 _"Good..."_  Sandy told me with a sympathetic smile.  _"Now...the second question...Do you think...at the time...that you would've done the same for Tooth, Bunny, or North?"_

"I...um..." I let out a guilty sigh and shook my head. "No...I don't think I would've."

 _"Good...now the last question..."_  I noticed a small yet sly smile appear on his face as he stood on his cloud.  _"...how long have you been thinking of me as your brother?"_

"I...I...WHAT!? H-How d-did you...!?"

"That blast ya did there, Jacky..." Aster started. "...is somethin' quite special and important for many reasons. One, it is only somethin' a true member of the Pitchiner line can do, no matter what. Two, ya were right on the money in sayin' it felt like your heart and soul was bein' crushed and then when you said it felt like they started singin' and roarin', because that's exactly what happened. Three, the only way that can happen is if someone who has not a shred of Pitchiner blood in them...has made their way into the heart and soul of a Pitchiner, and became so much so like family that their heart and soul recognizes them as such as if they were born that way." He took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. "Every Pitchiner knows they can do it once that kind of bond is formed, but ya wouldn't have known, because of your lack of memories... _or_  if ya weren't taught. Now, judgin' by the real Pitch's reaction...ya hadn't been taught. Ya see...that singin' and roarin'? That was the bond. Someone killed someone you thought to be so much like a brother, that the bond acted out, and in it's own way...told ya what to do to avenge your fallen brother in the best way it could with the sudden onslaught of emotions ya suffered at watchin' him die."

"I...so...oh...my head hurts..." I told the both of them.

"I am jealous." I heard North say from behind me. I turned around to face him as I held a hand to my head and gave him a questioning look.

"Jealous of what?" I asked him cautiously.

"Bunny is your Uncle, Pitch is your father, Tooth is now your girlfriend, and Sandy is like brother to you...I'm just normal Nicholas St. North."

"No you're not!" I told him with a wide grin. I flew up to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. "You're like a second father. Pitch said I could have a second family if I wanted to...and I found it all by accident. My family."

I felt North tighten his arms around me and I felt tears fall on my shoulder. "I am  _SO_  glad to hear that you think of me in such a way, because I was worried I would not be allowed to think of you as son."

"You can!" I chuckled out as he lessened his grip. Once I was completely out of his grip and back on the floor next to Aster, I looked around at everyone in the room. "Yup...I found a family." Suddenly, remembering what we were talking about I turned to Bunny and raised an eyebrow. "So, because of me thinking of Sandy as a brother..."

"Sandy is now connected to your heart and soul, and it can never be undone...not even in death. Pitch and I hold the same connection. Now, don't worry, it doesn't effect mine or Pitch's relationship with Sandy...only yours, and that's why you were able to do that blast."

"Wow...this all a bit much..."

 _"Yes it is."_  I saw Sandy's symbols say as he put on a small smirk.  _"But you failed to answer my question...Brother."_

"Uh...I...um...S-Since..." I muttered the answer under my breath, but apparently even though Aster had perfect hearing, but perhaps he didn't while he was in human form. However, it was Sandy...and  _only_  Sandy who had heard me, because I watched the sand cloud instantly disappear beneath him and he landed flat on his butt onto the floor.

I looked up and his eyes were wide, and it seemed his breath had left his body.  _'F-FOR HOW LONG!?'_  He asked me using his thoughts.

"I said, 'since you took me to my first New Year's eve as a spirit.' I know I told you then that you were my first real friend...but you were actually a bit more...I just didn't know how to say it or...considering you were a Guardian...I didn't know if I was allowed to..."

 _"Jack!"_  Sandy's symbols shouted along with his voice that entered my thoughts.  _"That's seventy-two years if you're including New Year's Day! That's..."_  He stood up, but staggered back a bit more once he thought he was steady.  _"Jack...that's nearly a lifetime!"_

"Still worth it." I told him in complete honesty.

Sandy nodded his head with the widest smile I had ever seen, and his eyes were so grateful and filled with Joy I was nearly breathless from the feeling of it.  _'Being the Guardian of Joy and Fun? Sometimes not Fun.'_  I thought to myself. Then, I noticed Sandy's symbols come together proudly and with determination.  _"I won't betray the amount of trust and care you've put into our friendship. I swear it."_

"And I won't ever betray you either." I told him with a reassuring smile. "Now...I think we should keep going."

_"That would be a good idea."_

"Let's continue."

I tapped my pinky to the window pane, and allowed the frost to take on the form that was in my mind, which was Sandy of course, and I let out a slight sigh when I suddenly heard North come towards me.  _"Are you all right?"_

 _"I just...I wish I could've done something."_ I told him as I felt sorry for myself.  _'I wish I could've gotten there in time. I wish I would've told him I thought of him as a brother. I wish I was up there fighting up there with him so he wasn't alone! I wish it were me!'_

_"Done something? Jack, you stood up to Pitch. You saved us."_

_"But Sandy..."_

_"Would be proud of what you did."_  He interrupted and I stood up taking my hood down.  _"I don't know who you were in your past life, but in this life you are Guardian."_

_"How can I know who I am, until I found out who I was?"_

_"You will. I feel it...in my belly."_ I gave him a short smile, but then we heard Tooth flying towards the globe.

_"Look how fast they're going out!"_

_"It's fear."_ I said as I gracefully floated up to the globe. _"He's tipped the balance."_

 _"Hey, buck up ya sad sacks!"_  Bunny requested as he hopped onto the console.  _"We can still turn this around! Easter is tomorrow, and I need your help! I say we pull out all the stops and we get those little lights flickering again!"_

The scene blinked and we were in the elevator.  _"Bunny is right!"_  North said as we landed on the floor he wanted us to get out on.  _"As much as it pains me to say, old friend, this time Easter is more important than Christmas!"_

_"Hey! Did everyone hear that?!"_

_"We must hurry to the Warren. Everyone, to the sleigh!"_

A look of pure mischief and delight crossed Bunny's face, and it made current me chuckle a bit.  _"Oh no, mate. My Warren, my rules. Buckle up."_

_"Shostakovich!"_

The scene blinked and I was twirling my special snowflake around my hand.  _"Hmm...if one little kid can ruin Easter...then we're in worse shape than I thought."_  I released the snowflake and made it hit Bunny on the nose, and caused him to give a genuinely soft smile as he looked at Sophie.

"Hold up!"

"Stop." I turned around to see Aster, and he brought a hand to his nose as he looked down at me. 'Right...he's still in human form.'

"I know ya enchanted me...even congratulated ya on it...but how is that different from your snowballs?"

"The snowflake?"

"No! The fireflake! Yes, I mean the bloody snowflake." He chuckled at me with an amused yet irritated expression.

"Well...I don't know exactly. I think I can only do it for specific people."

"What do ya mean?"

"I mean...I can only do that to those I trust. There's other things that factor into it like it has to be the one I want to see smile the most."

It was very different watching the human version of Bunny react to my words. I'm sure if Aster still had ears, they would've drooped by now, but that's not what happened. No, instead, he let out a heavy sigh as his eyes started looking to the ground, and he ran a hand through his dark gray hair before nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Ya trusted me, huh?"

"Yeah."

"I mucked that up real good at Easter...didn't I?"

"Don't worry about-" Suddenly I watched his eyes snap up at me and they seemed so filled with pain I couldn't speak any further, and I'm pretty sure my breath felt comfortable being stuck in my throat.

"I...I haven't done right by you at all...have I, Snowflake?" I still couldn't answer, and now my brain seemed to short circuit at the new nickname, and the fact that Aster said he hasn't done right by me. "Ya can say that it's fine, or ask me not to worry about, but Jack...even if ya weren't my nephew...the things ya went through...and the fact that..." He physically shuddered and brought the hand that was on the back of his neck to rest it on his eyes as if to cover the tears that I could tell wanted to break through. "The REAL Blizzard of '68, and ya say that ya trusted me...I hadn't done anythin' to deserve that, at least...not that I'm aware of...and then come Easter...and after with Jamie...Jacky...what did I do to deserve that? Could you tell me that, please?" His hand dropped at his side and he looked at me with what I could tell was baited breath, and his eyes were filled with self doubt.

"Nothing." I breathed out, and as soon as I said the words, he reacted as if my words had burned him. He took a few steps back and shook his head at me. "Uncle Aster...you did nothing."

"Ya don't have to repeat it! I know that! I just...!"

"You're not getting it..." I sighed out. "You didn't do anything to earn my trust...I trusted you anyway. I freely gave my trust, because like I told Emily all those years ago...I know what type of person you are and how important Easter is to you as well as the children. I trusted you because I felt like I could."

"Felt...? As in...past tense?" The way his voice slightly cracked at the end hurt my heart and I simply shook my head.

"No. Not past tense..." I told him once I could form words past the heartache. "You'll understand if we keep going."

"Not sure I will...but alright."

"Let's continue."

We watched as the scene changed to Bunny and Sophie crouching near a flower, and Bunny gave her the fondest smile I had ever seen on him. _"Ya wanna paint some eggs? Yeah?"_

 _"Okay!"_ She shouted as she jumped up and down.

_"Come on then."_

_"Rimsky-Korsakov! That's a lot of eggs!"_ North said as he put his hands on his hips, watching the eggs make their way through the Warren.

Meanwhile, I was watching the same thing while perched on the top of my staff, watching small eggs run past me. _"Uh, how much time do we have?"_

 _"Whee!"_ Sophie could be heard screaming with Joy, and not far behind her there was Bunny.

 _"WOO-HOO!"_ He shouted as he ran on all fours with Sophie on his back.  _"All right, troops, it's time to push back!"_  Sophie giggled as the eggs moved her down the hill and North waved to her with a bright smile, and I couldn't help but chuckle at the scene playing out before me.  _"That means eggs everywhere! Heaps of you in every high rise, farm house, and trailer park! In tennis shoes and cereal bowls! Oh, there'll be bathtubs filled with my beautiful googies!"_

North picked one of the eggs up out of the dye river and examined it.  _"Okay, that's little strange."_

 _"No, mate."_  He told North while He cradled half a dozen of his painted eggs.  _"That's adorable."_  The scene blinked to Bunny running about the Warren and to a few boulders.  _"There will be Springtime! On every continent."_  Bunny said excitedly and with all the determination in the world as he hopped onto one rock. He lifted his arms into the air to continue and added,  _"And I'm bringing Hope with me!"_

We watched as the scene blinked with me walking up to Bunny as Sophie crawled into his arms.  _"Not bad."_  I told him as I crouched down and looked at all the 'googies' making their ways into the other tunnels.

 _"Not bad, yourself."_  He told me and I was honestly a bit shocked, but I smiled anyway, thinking,  _'I'm so glad I asked Emily to take away his memories. He wouldn't have trusted himself to touch a child the way he acted in '68.'_

_"Ah, look, I-I'm sorry about the whole...you know, the "kangaroo" thing?"_

_"It's the accent, isn't it?"_  We both chuckled a little as North and Tooth show up.  _"Ah, poor little ankle-biter. Look at 'er, all tuckered out."_

_"I love her..." Tooth sighed out with a motherly expression. "I think it's time to get her home." She said as she slowly took her away from a reluctant Bunny._

_"How about I take her home?" I offered._

_"Jack, no, Pitch is out there-"_

_"No match for this." I told her as I confidently held out my staff._

_"Which is why we need you here, with us." Bunny told me._

_"Trust me, I'll be quick as a bunny."_

"Hold a mo', Jacky..."

"Stop." I looked up at Aster who was giving memory me a quizzical expression. "What is it?"

"If...If kids continuously walked through ya...how were you able to pick Sophie up and take her home?"

"That...is very good question." North mentioned as his eyes widened with wonder.

"Ah well...I kind of figured out I could do that by accident...well...not by accident but um..."

"C'mon, Jacky...how are ya able to do that?"

"Well...I was fighting with a spirit...no surprise...they wanted me gone, and I didn't want to be gone, I felt I was supposed to make it snow there, but because of the fight it turned out to be a blizzard. The blizzard was so harsh it...I..."

"It...killed people didn't it..." Aster trailed off, and without looking, I could hear the sympathy. I nodded my head. "Jack, it ain't your fault, mate."

"Except...it kind of is."

"Ya had a job to do. It ain't your fault."

"Thanks...but it doesn't feel that way. Anyway...It only got a group of people going hiking in the mountains. I...I flew down to see the damage after Emily came and reprimanded the spirit for interrupting my job...not for trying to kill or hurt me, because she didn't want to SEEM like she picked favorites...but after she took the spirit away, I flew down, and it was a family. There was a father, mother, and two older boys in their late teens or early twenties. Then, there was a little girl. She had bright orange hair and it went all the way down her back. She had freckles all across her face and unlike the others...she was breathing. She was just asleep. I don't know why I did it, but I practically lunged forward to pick her up, and when I did...I realized that she didn't go through me. I ignored it for the moment so I could take her to the nearest village or town and I dropped her off in front of someone's home, knocking heavily on the door. They heard my knocking and quickly noticed the sleeping young girl that started turning pale and her fingers were getting blue. They immediately took her inside and called a physician. She was fine and perfectly healthy in about a month, but considering that those people were apparently the only family she had...they took her in as one of their own."

"So...how are ya able to do it?"

"You ever heard of seeing is believing?"

"Of course I...Oh...it's because she couldn't see ya."

"That, and Sandy gave me another explanation when I told him about it two years later. He told me that since she was asleep...children can believe in ANYTHING when their asleep, but that what my theory was also played a part in it as well. He says it's likely both cases at once."

"That true?" Aster turned to Sandy and the golden man nodded his head with a proud smile.

"Well...alright then!" He told me with a slight chuckle.

"Yup...let's continue...I'd like to get this part over with..." As the vision started I heard everyone let out a guilt ridden sigh, but I noticed that they were also on guard, because this is the part they didn't let me explain.


	16. Chapter 16

_"We should get back."_

_"Jack_

_"Tha-that voice, I know that voice."_

_"Jack? What voice?"_  Baby Tooth asked with concern.

 _"Jack"_  I flew off to a rounded air vent on a roof, then gasped as I heard her voice again.  _"Jack"_

I Dashed off through the air towards my pond and I landed on the ground as Baby Tooth spoke again,  _"Jack! We need to get back!"_

_"Jack?"_

I walked closer to the sound and noticed the bed in the middle of the forest.  _'Wh-Why does this...it looks familiar...'_  Interrupting my thoughts, I heard the voice again.  _"Jack?"_  I then jumped down the hole with Baby Tooth following close behind. The scene blinked as I started walking and I felt her tug on my hoodie.  _"Baby Tooth, Baby Tooth, come on! I have to find out what that is!"_  I looked up and so did everyone else. As I flew towards the cages, I heard Bunny gasp in shock.

"Stop" My eyes went to Aster, but they also caught Sandy's horrified reaction. "What's wrong?"

"That...that's where your's and Pitch's home was..."

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to tell you. It was completely different..."

"Jack...you...you have no idea what this place is."

"It's Pitch's lair."

"Yeah, that it is...but it's more than that. The black gate he said he guarded? This is what it looked like on the inside. The cages, the darkness, the walls, the twists and turns, the slanted bridges, and especially the fact it looked like it was in a cave or a very large cavern...I helped him build the black gate. The darkness must've done this."

"So that's what happened..."

"Yeah...what do ya say we keep goin', yeah?"

"Y-Yeah...Let's continue."

I flew up to a cage and quickly noticed all of the fairies.  _"Shhh, keep it down! I'm gonna get you out of here just as soon as..."_  My eyes trailed down as I heard the voice again, interrupting my words.

_"Jack?...Jack!"_

_"...As I can."_  I dropped down from the cage, and I started digging through the piles of boxes, looking at the children's faces on the ends. Then I heard an eerie voice come forward, causing me to jerk my head up.

 _ **"Looking for something?"**_  I shot an ice blast at him and he started laughing.  _ **"Don't be afraid, Jack..."**_

Once my eyes focused on him at the bridge, I heard Wendy in my ear.  _"Jack, you shouldn't be here!"_  She wasn't angry, but she seemed desperate for some reason as I flew to the bridge. Now, I know why.

 ** _"...I'm not gonna hurt you."_**  He continued. Meanwhile, the real Pitch screamed on the inside,  _'LIES! JACK! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!'_

_"Afraid? I'm not afraid of you."_

_**"Maybe not. But you are afraid of something."** _

_"You think so, huh?"_

_**"I know so! It's the one thing I always know...people's greatest fears. Yours is that no one will ever believe in you."**_  Suddenly, I found myself dropping through the floor and into another corridor. As I herd him laugh I started scrambling to get out, but to no avail.  ** _"And worst of all, you're afraid you'll never know why. Why you?"_**  I bounded off into the dark, only to find another wall, so I turned to face Pitch, getting more and more frightened by the second as my heart started to pound heavily against my chest.  _ **"Why were you chosen? To be like this. Well fear not, for the answer to that...is right here."**   **Pitch**_  held out my tooth box to me and gave me wicked and knowing smile.  ** _"Do you want them, Jack? Your memories?"_**  He asked me and as I reached out, the real Pitch was whispering,  _'Don't do it Jack! Don't listen to him!'_  And in the memory it seemed almost as if I heard him as I quickly drew my hand back, causing Pitch to start laughing once again as he went through the shadows once more.  _ **"Everything you wanted to know...in this little box."**_  He laughed some more as I started to chase him.  _ **"Why did you end up like this? Unseen, unable to reach out to anyone? You want the answers so badly. You want to grab them and fly off with them, but you're afraid of what the Guardians will think! You're afraid of disappointing them. Well let me ease your mind about one thing: they'll never accept you, not really..."**_

I Groaned as I clutched my head, starting to feel he was right.  _"Stop it, stop it!"_

 ** _"After all, you're not one of them."_  **He appeared from the shadows again, backing me up against his dark globe of the Earth that mimicked the one North had at the pole.

_"You don't know what I am!"_

_**"Of Course I do! You're Jack Frost! You make a mess wherever you go! Why, you're doing it right now."**_  He told me as he tossed me my Tooth box. I caught it and briefly looked at it before I turned my eyes to him.

 _"What did you do?"_  I asked as I gave him a skeptical look.

_**"More to the point Jack, what did you do?"** _

He cackled as he crept back into the darkness, and I chased after him with my staff glowing brightly through whatever corridor I went through. Once I realized he wasn't there, I turned around and noticed there was a strange door...and no fairy.  _"Baby Tooth!"_

_**"Happy Easter, Jack..."** _

I looked down below my feet and through the tunnel as I noticed all of the smashed eggs, and my heart dropped.  _"No..."_  I whispered out as I thought,  _'Not again...Bunny's holiday...and I'm too late!'_

"Stop." I stepped back a bit, and let the other's take everything in. "So...what did you guys think happened?"

Sandy crossed his arms at me, tapped his foot in agitation, and pointed at the vision as furious symbols danced above his head.  _"NO! I want to see how they reacted before they answer you! I want to see what happened while I was DEAD! I want to see why they all look so guilty right now! I want to see what happened!"_

"I..." My eyes widened as the breath was nearly knocked out of me. Everyone could understand his symbols, but only I could hear his voice. He had an accent similar to Pitch's, but it held calmness and was a lighter voice. Still deep, but lighter. However, at the moment it held no sense of the calm or joy I'm used to. No...it was filled with fury and rage and disappointment, but not at me...at the other Guardians. "A-Alright...let's continue."

I flew down to where I saw North, Tooth, and Bunny, and when I landed I heard Bunny whisper out,  _"They don't see me..."_

Then, North saw me, and walked up to me with a saddened expression.  _"Jack! Where were you? The Nightmares attacked the tunnels, they smashed every egg, crushed every basket...nothing made it to the surface!"_

 _"Jack!"_  Called out as she flew over, but then noticed what was in my hand and gasped in disbelief.  _"Where did you get that?"_

 _"I was...It's, uh-"_  I started, not knowing where to actually start as I noticed their expressions quickly started to look disappointed.

 _"Where's Baby Tooth?"_  She gasped again, more horrified than before as she covered her mouth.  _"Oh Jack, what have you done?"_

 _"That is why you weren't here? You were with Pitch?"_  North growled out at me with pure disappointment and anger in his eyes.

 _"No, listen! Listen!"_  I pleaded.  _"I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen!"_

_"He has to go."_

_"What?"_

_"We should never have trusted you!"_  He shouted as he held his fist up to me in almost the same way he did when he clawed at me.  _'No! Not again!'_  I shouted in my head as I remembered Easter Sunday of '68. Then, Bunny lowered his whole arm and deflated into a heartbroken and tired expression.  _"Easter is...new beginnings, new life. Easter's about Hope. And now it's gone."_  Bunny turned away and started walking to where he last saw the kids.

Trying to get someone, anyone to listen, I turned to North and Tooth, but they turned away from me. I pulled out the wooden baby from North's nesting doll and dropped it into the grass.  _"Come, Jack...let's go to Antarctica..."_  I heard Wendy suggest and without reacting to her, I allowed her to swiftly carry me there.

"Stop!" I shouted to the vision as I suddenly heard the cracking of not one, but two whips. I turned to see Sandy whipping at the other Guardians. I couldn't move, I couldn't even speak. He was whipping at them with as much fury and rage as he did with Pitch when me and him found him on a rooftop after the Tooth race.

He held up no symbols, but I could clearly hear his thoughts scream,  _'YOU HURT MY BROTHER!'_  After the thought came and left I quickly went over to Sandy, noticing that if he kept it up, they wouldn't be able to dodge for long.

"Sandy! Stop!"

After one of the whips missed North's arm, he allowed both of them to drop as he stared at me in disbelief, and then quickly turned his furious gaze to the others once more and he made symbols appear above his head as he made the whips disappear.  _"WHAT WERE YOU ALL THINKING!?"_

"We um..." Tooth started.

 _"NOTHING! THAT'S WHAT YOU WERE THINKING! NOTHING! YOU DIDN'T THINK TO ALLOW HIM TO EXPLAIN! YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT HE HAD A GOOD REASON FOR BEING GONE! AND DESPITE LITERALLY RISKING HIS LIFE TO TRY AND GET TO ME WHILE I WAS DYING, YOU SO READILY THOUGHT HE BETRAYED YOU!"_  Sandy started breathing heavily as he tried to calm himself down.  _"All of you...all three of you..."_  Almost instantly, as he looked at me and back to the others, the rage was back.  _"YOU FAILED AS GUARDIANS!"_  His symbols shouted before he tried to calm himself down again, and I was completely speechless by Sandy's words to them as they seemed to almost physically wound the other Guardians.  _"You all already know how you failed him as Guardians to a child when he was on his own, but you did much worse here! You gave him Hope, Wonder, and an opportunity at seeing his Memories...and then you CRUSHED it all. YOU WERE MEANT TO GUIDE HIM! NOT DESTROY EVERYTHING YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT! Now...I want to know the same thing Jack wanted to know. WHAT IN ALL THE STARS IN THE SKY DID YOU THINK HE DID WITH PITCH!?"_

"W-We..." Tooth started as tears started to fall from her eyes, and she couldn't even look at me or Sandy.

"W-When he came back..." North started. "...and he had tooth box...but no Baby Tooth, who clung to him since he pulled her away from nightmare horse..."

"Sandy..." Aster started as he interlaced his fingers together, his hair disheveled from having to dodge Sandy's whips, and his eyes were pointed down to the ground. "...we thought that he went to Pitch and traded Baby Tooth for his memories."

 _"I'm disappointed in all of you!"_  Sandy growled out using not only his symbols, but his mind so that he knew I would hear it loud and clear. He continued as he gave me a side glance.  _"Jack didn't even want to Join the Guardians."_  He then walked over to me and floated up on a dream cloud as he stood at my height level.  _"He refused to be a Guardian, but when the opportunity to find out what his purpose was using his memories...you blackmailed him into joining and I failed as a Guardian for LETTING YOU! However, you all failed to notice that you all only trusted him to take Sophie home. HE trusted ALL OF YOU since we were all back at Tooth's palace! HE trusted YOU! And you destroyed that! DAMMIT! You broke his HEART!"_

"S-Sandy..." I breathed out as I looked at him, shocked and touched by his words. Shocked, because he had said them at all, cursed, and was completely right. Touched, because he was right, he was defending me, and if I didn't know any better...I could swear I could see tears threatening to fall, and it was all because of what they had thought I had done, and how they drove me to leave, but all of that was in the past now. "...It's okay, Sandy."

Now, it was apparently everyone's turn to be shocked even Sandy's, but especially Aster's. "Jacky...how can ya say it's okay?" Aster asked me as he stepped forward with a perplexed expression. "We practically abandoned ya. We didn't give ya any explanation and...Strewth! It was just like the Blizzard of '68...I didn't give ya time to explain. Only this time ya didn't have Mother Nature wipe my memories."

"It's okay...because I forgive you. I forgive all of you. I know how it looked, and I know that Easter was pretty much our last defense, and I wasn't where I was supposed to be so..."

"NO!" Aster shouted as he briefly lifted his arms, only to slam them down again.

"Uncle Aster?"

"That's not acceptable. Correct me if I'm wrong here, Jacky, but it sounds like you're blammin' yourself."

"I...well, it  _was_  my fault...wasn't it?"

"A-Actually..." Tooth started as she descended back to the ground. "...no it wasn't. Your tooth box was activated, and when a tooth box is activated the child recalls a happy memory, but since you had amnesia..."

"I had to go and search for the memory..."

"Exactly. You were drawn to it. You couldn't help it."

"I see...so really...it's no one's fault."

"It um...is still our fault." She told me as she looked to the ground. "We should've let you explain..."

"But you didn't, and I can't blame you. Just like in '68 and then...it was important and it got ruined, and the only logical conclusion because of how everything was presented...was to blame me. I forgive you. It's in the past, besides...we all came together in the end."

"True that, mate. Ya know...ya  _really are_  too good for this world." He chuckled out as he shook his head. Then, he took one arm and pulled me into a hug. "Don't ever change! We'll make it all up to ya we swear, but don't ever change. Ya let us know when somethin' is botherin' ya, yeah?"

I tear slipped from my eye, but I smiled into his chest. "Yeah, I promise."

"Good on ya." He told me as he brought the other arm around to give me a quick hug before letting go.

"So uh...now that we have that settled...Sandy...I forgive them...do you?"

Sandy let out a silent sigh and looked at me with a doubtful look.  _"Are you sure you forgive them?"_  He asked me both with symbols so the Guardians would know he asked me, and with his mind so I would hear the concern in his question.

"Yes." I told him with a small smile. "They're my family...and Tooth is my girlfriend...I'm still not over that..." I let out a shy chuckle as I continued. "...but we're all together now, and they're sorry about it. There's no use in holding a grudge if they're genuinely sorry for it."

Sandy gave me a sympathetic smile just before wrapping his arms around my neck, giving me his version of a bear hug. Once he let go he looked at the Guardians and nodded, then he looked to me once again.  _"You're more mature than me, then. I wasn't...I couldn't forgive them for what they not only did to a child...but to you. However, you ARE right. There's no use in holding onto anger. I'll forgive them just as much as you'll forgive them."_

"I forgive them completely."

Sandy nodded his head with a proud smile.  _"Then I will too."_

"Good." I smiled back at him. "Let's continue."

The scene blinked and we watched, from just behind the cliff, me about to throw the memories off a cliff in Antarctica, but I just couldn't. Then, I started to hear Pitch behind me, and the current Guardians gasped in equal parts shock and guilt as he crept out of the shadows.  _ **"I thought this might happen. They never really believed in you. I was just trying to show you that. But I understand."**_

 _"You don't understand anything!"_  I shouted as I reeled back and hurled electric ice at him with all the rage I could muster.

 _ **"No?!"**_  He shouted as he held up a defense with black sand.  _ **"I do know what it's like to be cast out!?"**_  He shouted as he hurled the sand at me, but I screamed back at him as I flew into the air hurling a blast of electrical ice towards him. Our clashing powers created a fog that  _ **Pitch**_  disappeared into briefly before reappearing again behind me.  _ **"To not be believed in!"**_  I spun around to see him.  _ **"To long for...a family."**_  He whined out, but Pitch on the inside was practically thrashing,  _'HE ISN'T YOUR FAMILY, YOU BASTARD! HE IS MINE! AND HE WILL NOT JOIN YOU! HE MAY NOT HAVE RUN AWAY LIKE I SO DESPERATELY WANTED HIM TO, BUT I KNOW HE WILL NOT JOIN YOU! MY SON IS STRONGER THAN YOU!'_  The darkness growled back quickly as I lowered my staff,  ** _'We will either kill him or have us join us! Either way, you will lose him!' Pitch_**  straightened himself up and continued his speech.  _ **"All those years in the shadows, I thought, 'No one else knows what this feels like.' But now I see I was wrong. We don't have to be alone, Jack. I believe in you...and I know children will too!"**_

_"In me?"_

**_"Yes! Look at what we can do!"_   _He_**  stated with excitement as he motioned to the sculpture we made together while the darkness told the real Pitch,  ** _'Look at how much hope he has, Kozmotis. He will join us. He's already considering it.'_  **Right as the darkness chuckled  _ **Pitch**_  continued,  ** _"What goes together better than cold and dark? We can make them believe! We'll give them a world where everything, everything is..."_**

"Pitch Black?"

_**"And Jack Frost too. They'll believe in both of us."** _

_"No, they'll fear both of us. And that's not what I want. Now for the last time, leave me alone."_  As I walked away, the real Pitch told the darkness smugly,  _'He'll join you, huh? Tell me...do those that join you typically walk away?'_

Ignoring the real Pitch, the distraught and shocked look faded almost immediately as  ** _Pitch_**  spoke again.  ** _"Very well. You want to be left alone? Done! But first..."_**

I heard a squeak behind me and I quickly turned around to see Baby Tooth in his clutches.  _"Baby Tooth!"_

 _ **"The staff, Jack! You have a bad habit of interfering. Now hand it over, and I'll let her go."**_  He said with a calm voice as he held Baby Tooth in his clutches, squeezing even tighter.  _'No! You're not going to let her go! You're going to break his staff! NO!'_  The real Pitch shouted.  ** _'YES! And then we will just go ahead with destroying the Guardians! Might as well get rid of those fools the rest of the way!'_**

 _"No, Jack! Don't do it!"_  Baby Tooth tried to squeak out.

I hold tight to my staff, the power coming off of me and it practically singing, and I let out a heavy sigh as I hand it to him.  _"Alright...now let her go."_  I held out my hand to him ready to take Baby Tooth back, feeling a bit different now that  _ **Pitch**_  was holding my staff.

He smirked at me, then quickly frowned.  _ **"No."**_  He said simply.  ** _"You said you wanted to be alone. So be alone!"_**

Baby Tooth glared at  _ **Pitch**_  and squeaked out,  _"HEY!"_  Then, she pecked his thumb hard.

 _ **"Ah!"**_  He shouted and then threw her against a wall.

 _"No!"_  I shouted as I watched her be thrown. I turned to face  _ **Pitch**_  and he was smiling wickedly at me as he lifted his knee and snapped my staff in two. I instantly felt a sharp agonizing pain in my very soul as the staff broke, and I clutched at my core, groaning in pain. Then, he shot nightmare sand at me throwing me against the same wall he did Baby Tooth, and I fell down the ravine, unconscious.

 _'NO! JACK!'_  The real Pitch could be heard screaming in his own agony.  ** _'Well now...all that's left are the Guardians and your dear Emily while you mourn your son's death. You did say that if the staff breaks it will kill him. I should've done that a long time ago.'_**  The last part he physically chuckled as he tossed the staff's pieces down the same ravine.

Once Pitch was gone, I woke up and noticed Baby Tooth nearby.  _"Baby Tooth! You alright?"_  I asked as I crawled on my belly towards her, still in a lot of pain from my staff being broken in two. I tried to cover her up, but she squeaked in alarm and I opened my hands. She sneezed, causing me to let out an apologetic sigh.  _"Sorry, all I can do is keep you cold. Pitch was right...I make a mess of everything."_  At my words, Baby Tooth crawled into my hoodie pocket.  _"Hey!"_  I said, but I didn't really have the energy to care so I leaned against the icy wall.

Suddenly I heard the voice again.  _"Jack?"_  I opened my eyes and it spoke again.  _"Jack!"_

I looked down and my pocket was glowing.  _"Whoa!"_  I shouted as I back peddled against another wall.

_"Jack!"_

I looked at my tooth box, and then at Baby Tooth. She nodded her head as she placed her small hand on the canister. Taking in a deep breath, I carefully placed my fingers on the blue diamond, and my vision peeled away like a kaleidoscope as my memories revealed themselves. We all relived the memories I we already witnessed, especially me saving my sister. Once the memories were through I gasped for air.  _"Did you see...Did you see that!?"_  She shook her head know, and I picked her up carefully with a wide and excited smile.  _"It...it was...it was me! I had a family! I had a sister! I saved her!"_

 _"Wow, wow, wow!"_  Baby Tooth chirped.

I laughed a bit hysterically at the memory, but it quickly died down as the realization dawned on me. I looked up to the moon with wide eyes.  _"That's why you chose me. I'm...I'm a Guardian!"_  I quickly stood up and put Baby Tooth in my head, and started looking around. "We have to get out of here." I told her and then noticed my broken staff.  _'OH!'_  I slid to my knees and slammed the two pieces together.  _'C'mon! I'm a Guardian...but the Guardian of what!? Joy? Fun?'_  I groaned as the pieces slipped from each other. _'Fine! I'll just have to focus on what the other Guardians represent!'_  I thought to myself as I slammed the two pieces back together.  _'HOPE, WONDER, MEMORIES, AND DREAMS! C'MON!'_  At my last thought the staff started to glow brilliantly where it had been broken, and I felt the staff mend and meld back together.

 _"Alright!"_  Baby Tooth squeaked out excitedly.

 _"Whoo hoo hoo hoo! Come on, Baby Tooth, I owe you one!"_ I shouted as I flew straight out of the ravine.


	17. Chapter 17

"Stop." I said calmly as the scene blinked to me flying towards the cages in Pitch's lair. I turned to the others. My eyes widened at what I saw, and honestly, I didn't know if it was worse than the memory they watched of me dying. They all stared at me with slow tears streaming down their faces. However, Tooth and North's expressions were nothing compared to Aster's and Sandy's. Aster was practically shaking as he reached out to hug me, and Sandy was crying with his hands over his mouth. "Um...Uncle Aster? Sandy? I uh...what's wrong?" I asked as I wrapped my arms around Bunny, who was definitely shaking and...crying. "Uncle Aster?"

"Y-You're staff...it b-broke...a-and you...I...Oh Stars, Jack...It...It was like I was w-watchin' ya bein' murdered r-right b-before my eyes! Th-then...y-ya were alive and...and hopeless! Y-Ya didn't have any hope, joy, or wonder left!" The last sentence he hugged me tighter, his tears falling freely on my shoulder. "B-But...you were alive...a-and after your memories...you p-put...you did the impossible!"

"Wait...what do you mean I did the impossible?" I asked, and he released me from his tearful vice grip. I looked up at his eyes and gasped as they seemed to be glowing an even brighter green due to the crying.

"Do you um..." He said as he tried to dry his tears, and as I glanced at Sandy, I noticed that he apparently felt the same as Aster, as he too started to dry his tears. "...you remember the memory of Pitch tellin' ya why ya can't ever let your staff break?"

"Yeah. He said that it would...Oh..."

"Yeah..." He chuckled dryly. "Oh." He sniffed and wiped away some more tears. "My heart, Jacky...it stopped the second your staff snapped in two. I...I told ya I couldn't watch ya die again...but then...it felt like I did...that is...until you were alive."

"Okay...but what was the impossible thing."

"Pitch also told ya that it was nothin' more than a legend that there was a man who was able to repair his staff...and he was right. Th-then you...well...that's not the o-only impossible thing. Y-You were able to pour everythin' we represent into the staff. Usually only we can manipulate what we represent, but you were able to use it as a meldin' tool, focusin' on Hope, Wonder, Memories, and Dreams. So, not only did you do the impossible by mendin' your staff together, you did so by focusin' on what we represent. It's all a bit weird and strange to explain, but that's what I got...and I...well...It...When it broke I was frantically wonderin' how you were here with us watchin' your memories, and how ya made it back to us, because the amount of heartache it caused to see your staff get broken...and then you were tossed against the wall...I nearly broke, Jacky."

My eyes widened even further, and I quickly looked to Sandy. "Sandy?"

He still had tears running down his face, but he flew up and hugged me, and I returned it as fast as I could. Not long after the tackle, he released me and floated a little ways back with a sad smile as his symbols appeared for the others, but his voice resounded in my ears.  _"Since watching your memories...and especially after I discovered that you thought so strongly of me as a brother to you...I feel like I've been given the world without doing anything to deserve it. I...I haven't ever been this happy..."_  His eyes then darted to the floor.  _"...or this angry, or this scared, or this heartbroken. When the evil Pitch broke your staff...just like Bunny...my heart stopped, and it practically shattered to pieces as you fell unconscious into the ravine. Then...you turned out to be alive, and even though I knew you were alive now...it still felt like I watched you get murdered...like Bunny said...and that's when I started crying...You were alive! But then, I was left to wonder how you got out...and then you fixed your staff...you can't possibly imagine the amount of relief and Joy it gave me when you started mending your staff."_

"I...I'm sorry..."

 _"Don't be."_  Sandy and Aster said together.

"Um..." I smiled. "Okay. I guess...thank you very much...for feeling that way." I told them, and figured this wasn't enough for what they just told me so I took in a deep breath and smiled at them. "I love you both...very much."

They seemed touched by my words as both of their eyes widened and they instantly pulled me into a group hug which was later joined by North and Tooth. "We love you too, you know!" North bellowed out.

I couldn't help it, I started tearing up again and practically melted into the group hug of my family and girlfriend. "I love all of you...so much." I told them as I allowed them to hug me. Once the hug ended everyone seemed in lighter spirits, and I knew for a fact the worst of the memories were over, but after we finish with the rest, no one will walk away the same. I continued to smile as I turned back to the vision of me flying towards the cages, and nodded my head. "Continue."

 _"C'mon! Let's go!"_  I shouted to the fairies and I heard a multitude of voices.

_"We can't fly!"_

_"No belief!"_

_"Our wings don't work!"_

_"None of us can..."_

_"None of you can fly!?"_  I interrupted.

 _"No, we can't!"_  They all seemed to squeak at the same time.

Then, I heard a different kind of squeaking noise. I turned to the globe in Pitch's lair and gasped.  _"They're all going out..."_  I watched them all blink out. All but one. I hopped onto the globe and instantly knew who it was.  _"JAMIE!"_

The scene then blinked to us being in Jamie's room, and  _memory me_  floating just outside the window, listening to Jamie.  _"Okay, look, you and I are obviously at what they call a crossroads. So, here's what's gonna happen...If...if it wasn't a dream, and if you are real, then you have to prove it. Like, right now. I believed in you for a long time, okay? Like, my whole life in fact. So you kind of owe me now. You don't have to do much...just a little sign so I know. Anything. Anything at all."_  After nothing happened Jamie's hopeful look quickly fell, and so did the bunny in his hands.  _"I knew it."_

"But..." Aster started with a confused and concerned expression.

"Shhh!" I told him as the memory continued.

With a saddened and guilty expression I entered through the window, and noticed that Jamie seemed to hear me. I set my staff to the side and frosted the window pane. I then drew an Easter Egg. "Heh...not bad, mate..."

"Shush!"

Jamie jumped up and stood on his bed staring at the drawing.  _"He's real!"_  He whispered out in disbelief.

 _'I can do more...I have to do more...for Bunny...'_  I thought to myself, and then I frosted another window pane. Once it was completely frosted, I drew a rabbit. I looked at the rabbit and felt it was something I could do. I cupped my hands together and remembered Bunny's words.  _'Easter is about New Beginnings...New Life...Easter is about Hope...I want to give Jamie...Hope!_ ' At my last thought the Bunny came to life and hopped into my hands. I opened my eyes and started laughing as it started to hop around me and Jamie.

"Jack, stop the vision."

"Stop." I happily commanded and looked at Aster, quickly noticing the shocked expression on his face. "What is it?"

"You...you brought a drawing to life...using the power of Hope."

"Well...I just thought about giving Jamie Hope and..."

"Exactly...but ya did more than think it...didn't ya? Ya hoped it would work too. Ya hoped that he would believe again. Ya hoped that it would make him happy...didn't ya?"

"I...yeah..." I told him as my brow furrowed.

"Mate, you're a wonder. I think I figured it out too...how ya were able to use what we represent and how you made that Bunny come to life. It's more than just you and your powers, and more than ya just bein' special. It's because you're a spirit, a child, ya have powers,  _and_  ya still believe in us. All of that...gave you the ability to hold onto Hope, Wonder, Dreams, and what little Memories you could. You were able to use that."

"Wait...so...because I'm still physically a child..."

"Ya were able to harness the power of Hope manipulation to create that Bunny and bring it to life, and ya got Jamie to believe again. Good job, Jacky...and thank you. This means a lot. It meant a lot then, but now that I know how ya did it...I'm blown away..."

"Oh, trust me...to me...that's not the best part."

"Then get on with it." He chuckled out.

_"Let's continue."_

_"Woah! Ha Ha!"_  Jamie bounced on the bed and laughed at the hopping bunny, and I couldn't help but laugh along with him. Then, Jamie touched the rabbit and it bursted into snow inside of his room.  _"Woah...Snow?"_  I watched as a snowflake made it's way onto Jamie's nose.  _"Jack Frost..."_

_"Did he just say...?"_

Jamie stood back on his bed and started looking around, and I was staring at him disbelief.  _"Jack Frost?"_

I gasped in shock as my heart started to pound against my chest, as I was filled with hope.  _"He said it again! He said...You said..."_

Then, Jamie turned to face me with his jaw dropped.  _"Jack Frost!"_

 _"That's right! But...but that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name! You said my name!"_  After I said that, I noticed that his eyes hadn't left mine and he was still staring at me with a dropped jaw.  _"Wait, c-can you hear me?"_  Jamie nodded and the hope in my chest flared as it was being mixed with wonder.  _"Can-can you...can you see me?"_  Jamie nodded again as a smile made it's way onto his face. His simple nod nearly had me completely in tears.  _"He sees me! He-he sees me!"_  I did a back-flip of Joy onto Jamie's desk and I laughed out my excitement.

_"You just made it snow!"_

_"I know!"_

_"In my room!"_

_"I know!"_

_"You're real?"_

_"Yeah, man...Who do you think brings you all the blizzards, an-and the snow days? And you remember when you went flying on that sled the other day?"_

_"That was you!?"_

_"That was me!"_

_"Cool!"_

_"Right?"_

_"But what about the Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy, like, I mean-"_

_"Real, real, real! Every one of us is real!"_

_"I knew it!"_

_"Jamie!"_  Jamie's mother called out.  _"Who're you talking to?"_

 _"Umm..."_  I nodded my head at the door.  _'Go ahead kid.'_  And he seemed to understand.  _"Jack Frost?"_

 _"Okay..."_  She laughed out and Jamie stared at me with an amused smile as we both laughed together.

Then, off to the side of me, I noticed there was thunder. The scene blinked to North crash landing the sleigh in the street.  _"Whoa whoa whoa!"_  Once the sleigh stopped, the reign deer ran off.  _"Ah, come back!"_

 _"North are you okay?"_  Tooth asked him cautiously.

_"Is official. My powers are kaput!"_

Tooth gasped as she saw me floating towards them.  _"Look!"_  She jumped off the sleigh, and I noticed that, like her fairies, she couldn't fly.  _"Jack!"_  She stumbled to the ground and I did my best to catch her.  _"Jack!"_

 _"You okay?"_  At my question she seemed to blush as she pushed her feathers back.

 _"What are you doing here?"_  North asked me with a seemingly skeptical look that was mixed with it's own hope.

 _"Same as you."_  I told him with an honest smile as I turned to Jamie, who was running towards us.

_"The last light!"_

_"Wow! It is you! I mean, it is you!"_  He laughed out as he then turned to face me. _"_ _I knew it wasn't a dream!"_

 _"Jack, he sees you!"_ North whispered out in awe and happiness.

I nudged Jamie's shoulder, but then I noticed someone was missing. _"Wait...but...where's Bunny?"_

_"Losing Easter took its toll on all of us. Bunny most of all."_

_"Oh no..."_  I whispered out as I saw Bunny jump out of the sleigh looking like an actual Bunny.  _'This is all my fault...'_

_"That's the Easter Bunny?"_

_"Now somebody sees me! Where were you 'bout an hour ago, mate?"_

_"What happened to him? He used to be huge, and cool, and now he's...cute."_

_"Oh, that's good!"_  Bunny said as Jamie started scratching his fur, but then took control of himself.  _"Ah!"_  He groaned as he batted Jamie's hand away. "Did you tell him to say that?" He asked as he jumped down and started kicking at my legs, and bouncing on his back feet like he was going to box with me.  _"That's it, let's go, me and you! Come on!"_

_"No, actually, he told me you were real! Just when I started to think that maybe you weren't."_

_"He made you believe? In me?"_  When Jamie nodded, Bunny looked at me with a grateful nod.  _'The kids need you, Bunny...'_  I thought as I smiled back.  _'...it was the least I could do after causing you so much trouble...'_  Then, a thunder clap interrupted my thoughts, causing all of us to turn to face it.

 _"Get Jamie out of here!"_  I told them as I flew up into the air.

_"Be careful, Jack!"_

_**"Jack Frost!?"**_  Pitch shouted in disgust and pure rage.  _ **"Let's end this, shall we?!"**_  As he said that, the real Pitch could be heard weeping,  _'Y-You're alive! Jack! I thought...'_  Then, Pitch blocked my ice attack with a dangerously smug grin.  ** _"That little trick doesn't work on me anymore!"_**  He pushed me back out of the sky, and as Pitch chuckled darkly, so did the darkness inside.  ** _'Oh! This is going to be so much fun! You'll just end up losing him again as I destroy them all together!'_**

The vision blinked to me falling out of the sky and onto the ground. I told the others I couldn't beat him because he got stronger, and he reappeared in front of us...sort of.  _"All this fuss over one little boy and still he refuses to stop believing! Very well. There are other ways to snuff out a light."_  He taunted as his shadow broke the lit light bulbs around us.

_"If you want him, you're gonna have to go through me!"_

**_"Oh, look how fluffy you are!"_**  His shadow poked at Bunny from the ground, taunting him.  ** _"Would you like a scratch behind the ears?"_**

Bunny then hopped into North's hand.  _"Don't you even think about it!"_

 ** _"I can't tell you how happy it makes me to see you all like this!"_  Pitch** came out of the shadows on his nightmare horse, and the shadows crept closer to us.  ** _"You look awful."_**

_"Jack, I'm scared."_

I crouched down, and I was about to tell him that I know...and then I remembered my memories.  _"We're gonna have a little fun instead..."_  I whispered out.  _"That's it! That's my center!"_

Jamie of course didn't understand, but it gave me all the strength and confidence I needed.  ** _"So what do you think, Jamie? Do you believe in the Boogey- AH!"_**  I threw a snowball at him, causing a hilarious reaction from the horses themselves.

I laughed a bit as I turned to see a few tossed away objects that would be perfect for sledding.  _"Now let's go get your friends."_

We watched as I created the sled ride effortlessly, and gained believers quickly as we got them to come with us. Once we saw the nightmares though, the sled ride ended, and Bunny told them that we would protect them. Then, Pitch started laughing manically.  ** _"Oh, you'll protect them? But who will protect you?"_**

I started to step forward, but Jamie stepped in front of me.  _'Jamie, no!'_

 _"I will."_  Jamie challenged.

 _"I will!"_  Cupcake told him.

 _"I will!"_  Claude answered with a determined expression and was quickly followed by his twin brother.

 _"And me."_  Pippa said as she came forward with a brave expression.

 _"I-I'll try."_  Monty stuttered out.

I nodded at Jamie, accepting what his friends were willing to do, but my heart pounded with worry and concern for all of them.  ** _"Still think there's no such thing as the Boogeyman?"_**   _ **Pitch**_  asked as he sent a tidal wave of nightmares towards us.

 _"I do believe in you. I'm just not afraid of you."_  Jamie and his friends held out their hands, but Jamie was the bravest. When the nightmare sand touched his hand it all turned into golden sand. My eyes went wide as I instantly recognized it.  _'SANDY!'_

The kids cheered and one by one the other Guardians started to gain their powers back. We faught together, and I watched as Bunny summoned a tunnel for North saying,  _"All yours, mate!"_

Pitch almost attacked me, but then Tooth flew through with amazing speed.  _"Thanks Tooth!"_

Bunny then appeared out of a chimney with a smug expression.  _"Ho ho ho!"_  He growled out as he threw a boomerang, and I was loving every minute of watching the battle from every point of view, even if it did feel like we were quickly being pulled in every other direction to witness the battle.

North ended up on the wrong rood, but at the moment it was okay, because we cornered him in an alley.  _"It's over, Pitch. There's no place to hide."_

 _ **Pitch**_  gave me a wicked smile as he sunk back into the shadows. I turned around to look for him, but then noticed Bunny's terrified expression and at the same time, Bunny and the real Pitch could be heard shouting,  _"Jack! Look out!"_  I turned around to watch the boomerang bounce off of the scythe. Then, a sand whip wrapped around the scythe and yanked  ** _Pitch_**  away.

We watched as Sandy valiantly came out of the dream sand tornado, and he was pissed. He yanked  _ **Pitch**_  towards him and shook his finger at him saying in his mind,  _'Tsk tsk tsk...You will not '_  Then, he flung him into the air. After a while, he yanked him back down and slammed him against the snow, knocking him out with dream butterflies dancing overhead.

I gasped when I saw the dream butterflies. "Stop!"

"What is it, mate?"

"The dream sand! It's butterflies! Pitch...when I was being raised by him...I caged the butterflies for...for my mother and set them free on the surface. He said he would likely always dream of it. Right then...as he's sleeping...he's...he's my father! But...when he woke up...the darkness must've taken over again."

"Crikey...I think you're right!"

"Let's continue...I have to hear what the real Pitch is thinking."


	18. Chapter 18

Pitch woke up and looked around at all of the dream sand animals, and then he noticed us having fun with our snowball fight.  ** _"You dare have fun in my presence?! I am the Boogeyman! And you will fear me!"_**  Jamie ran straight through him as he tried to scare him, and he instantly clutched his chest.  ** _"No! Oh...No..."_**  He whimpered out while the real Pitch was chuckling on the inside,  _'My son...he defeated you! Oh...and what's that? Your control over me? Don't need that do we? Thought not! It may take a while, but you can feel it. Your control is slipping!'_  At the real Pitch's words,  ** _Pitch_**  ran away to the pond, and we quickly followed after him until he fell onto the ice.

 _"Leaving the party so soon?"_  North questioned with a sly smile.

 _"You didn't even say goodbye!"_  Tooth quipped with an irritated look as she twirled a quarter in her fingers, and then tossed it to Pitch.

_**"A quarter?"** _

Tooth punched  _ **Pitch**_ , knocking out a tooth.  _"And that's for my fairies."_

 _ **"You can't get rid of me! Not forever! There will always be fear!"**_  Pitch desperately tried to tell us.  _'Hmm...I can feel it, don't you? The loss of your control?'_

"So what? As long as one child believes, we will be here to fight fear."

 _ **'SHUT UP! I HAVE CONTROL! YOU WILL NOT WIN! YOU CAN'T!'**_  The darkness shouted at at the real Pitch.  ** _"Really? Then what are they doing here?"_**  He questioned as he motioned to the nightmare horses.

_"Haha! They can't be my Nightmares, I'm not afraid."_

_"Looks like it's your fear they smell."_

_**Pitch**_  gasped in shock as realization began to dawn on him that he was indeed afraid.  _'You're afraid of me getting control! Oh! Now this is wonderful!'_  The real Pitch laughed while the nightmare horses dragged them down the hole together.

I looked up at the moon as I felt a strange need to and I could've sworn the moon itself was smiling as the Man in the Moon spoke.  _ **"Congratulations, Jack, Guardian of Joy and Fun. You've done well, and I am proud of you."**_

I turned around when I heard North behind me.  _"Are you ready, Jack? To make it official?"_  I simply smiled and walked closer, watching him take my smile as my answer as he flipped open the large book.  _"Will you, Jack Frost, vow to watch over the children of the world? To guard them with your life...their hopes, their wishes, and their dreams, for they are all that we have, all that we are, and all that we will ever be."_

I looked back at Jamie with a small smile.  _'Should I, kid?'_  Almost as if he heard my thoughts, he nodded his head so I turned to face North and gave an honest and overjoyed smile as I answered,  _"I will."_

 _"Then, congratulations, Jack Frost...for you are now, and forevermore, a Guardian!"_  Everyone started cheering, and I felt something swell within my chest as some color was brought to my skin. I was still pale, but I was no longer a deathly pale, and unless you were looking closely you wouldn't be able to tell.

Overhead, we all heard the sleigh come back WITH the reign deer, and the kids of course marveled at it.  _"Everyone loves the sleigh."_  I heard Bunny admit.

Then, North placed a comforting hand on my shoulder and whispered,  _"Time to go."_

As I made my way towards the sleigh I heard Bunny tell Sophie,  _"Happy Easter ya little ankle-biter. I'm gonna miss ya."_

 _"Bye bye, Bunny."_  She giggled out.

_"You're leaving!? But what if Pitch comes back? What if we stop believing again? If I can't see you..."_

_"Hey! Hey...Slow down, slow down. Are you telling me you stop believing in the moon when the sun comes up?"_

_"No."_

_"Okay, well do you stop believing in the sun when the clouds block it out?"_

_"No."_  He smiled at me, understanding my point.

 _"We'll always be there, Jamie. And now...we'll always be in here."_  I told him as I poked at the middle of his chest.  _"Which kinda makes you a Guardian too."_

I started walking away when suddenly I heard Jamie behind me.  _"Jack!"_  I turned around and saw him running towards me.  _'He's going to go through me! He...'_  But then he didn't. He hugged me. I couldn't stop the joyful pounding in my heart as I hugged him back.  _'...He sees me...I'm not invisible anymore.'_

It then showed us taking off in the sleigh, just before blinking to when we landed. I hopped off the sleigh and felt Comet Nudge me.  _'I was so worried about you, Jack. Mother Nature is worried too...she has no idea what happened and doesn't know what you are or what you've become. She's been looking for you.'_

I turned to her and smiled.  _"I'm alright girl."_

_'Yeah...try telling that to Mother Nature. You need to see her.'_

Suddenly the vision didn't just stopped, it vanished altogether, and we were back in the globe room. I held onto my head, suddenly feeling a bit dizzy. "Okay..." I groaned out. "...so...how long did that take?" A yeti came up and started telling me how long we were in the memory for and my eyes widened. "TWO DAYS!?" The yeti nodded.

"Bunny's took a whole week if it makes you feel better." Tooth told me.

"A bit...but two days..." My head jerked up as I immediately turned to Aster who was still in human form. "I have to go see Emily!"

"Could ya let me come with ya?"

"Why?" I asked with a concerned expression.

"Well...I'll be able to explain how ya remember her...really remember her...and..." His eyes then darted to my staff and his jaw dropped as his eyes widened. "Jack! Your staff!"

I looked at it in my hands, and I didn't see any signs of Frost. "It...It's not frosted!"

"You...you found yourself completely...by goin' through your memories!" He picked me up and swung me around. Once he let me land he laughed out, "This is great news!"

"Yeah it is...and...even better...I can remember all of the spaces of my past that we didn't see. Pitch...my father was good to me."

"I have no doubt. Now...let's go see your sister."

"Yes...but how will you appear?" I asked giving him a mischievous smirk.

"Oh, she hasn't seen me as a human since she was eight years old! This should certainly be interesting!"

"Yes, well...while the two of you do that, I have Christmas to prepare..."

"And I have teeth to collect, and you have a Baby Tooth to take care of, Jack." Tooth told me with a loving smile.

 _"Dreams are waiting to be delivered."_  Sandy told us with his symbols.

"I guess it's just you and me, Uncle Aster."

"I guess so, Jacky." He chuckled out lightly.

"Come on, we can head back to Burgess. There's an owl there that I know. He lives in the tree with me."

"Yeah...that's another thing, mate. We're gonna discuss your livin' situation."

"I know...but I have a plan...and it's stupid and foolish and..."

"You want to save your father...don't you?" I nodded and he let out a sigh. "Well, then I'll help ya. However, we gotta find Mother Nature."

Suddenly the wind rushed in between us. "Jack! Oh my sweet Jack! You remember!"

"Mother!" I shouted in excitement.

"My boy! My darling boy! And you're a Guardian too!"

"Yes, but we can't tell Emily that."

"I understand! Oh, I'm so glad! I've missed you so much!"

"I've missed you too and..." I got the looks of the other Guardians, and their eyes were wide. "What is it?"

"Jack...we can hear her. We can still hear your mother...the wind. Right, North?"

"Yeah...is strange."

Sandy nodded his head in amazement, and I turned to my uncle. "Well isn't this interesting? I'm almost certain that Manny had something to do with it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well...after the memories are done, we're all granted one final gift. Apparently that's the gift of hearing your mother."

"That's so amazing!"

"Yes, and if they need to know where you are or if you need help, I can speak with the other Guardians. Manny told me to keep it a secret until after the memories. Oh! My baby boy remembers me! Oh! I almost forgot! Manny also gave me a personal gift for not only raising you when you were a child, but staying with you and keeping you safe." Suddenly there was a bright violet light that illuminated the entire workshop, and it was nearly blinding, but I was still able to see.

Once the light faded, tears immediately started to fall from my eyes. In front of me stood a beautiful woman in her late twenties, early thirties, and she had beautiful long and wavy white hair, ice blue eyes, and pale skin. She was thin, but not too thin, and her cheeks were littered with freckles. She wore a beautiful purple dress that had see-through sleeves that cascaded down her arms until they gripped comfortably at her elbows, and at the bottom of the dress it shined with white and blue sparkles that started at her hips in spaced out clusters, but grouped together at the bottom. She smiled at me with tears in her eyes as she held out her arms to me. "M-Mother!" I shouted as I immediately ran into her arms.

"My sweet baby boy!" She cried out as she held a hand to the back of my head while her other arm wrapped tightly around me. I felt her tears against my shoulder, but mine were spilling out like a waterfall, so it was fine. "How I longed to be able to hold you like this, and I never thought I would. Then, as soon as you took your oath, Manny spoke to me, asking me if I wanted to be able to have a physical form. I didn't hesitate. All that he asked was that I didn't tell you I knew of the memories and what he would do. Oh, my boy! My little prince!"

"It seems...Manny gave Jack the appearance of you." Aster mentioned while Tooth, North, and Sandy stood there completely stunned.

"Oh!" She said as she looked at her own wavy hair and then my own. "You're right!"

I pulled away and looked at my mother through tearful eyes. "Mother...I...I need to do something...and it's going to be dangerous."

"And since when have you ever asked for my permission to do something dangerous?" She asked me with a mischievous expression that was so similar to my own, and she put her hands on her hips with a sly smile. "So, let's go speak with Emily, and then we'll work on rescuing your father."

"Thank you!" I told her as I hugged her again.

"Oh, don't think I'm just doing this for you, my sweet. I can't wait to see the look on Emily's face when she realizes that not only have you been made a Guardian, but that you have all your memories back, and that Aster and I are in human forms. It'll be very amusing."

"Yup, that's definitely Jack's mother." North bellowed out a laugh

"Why, thank you. Now, let's get going to your pond."

"Right! Um...do you mind if we take the tunnels?"

"Of course not! They're fun!"

"No doubt Jack's mother." Tooth squeaked out, but then quickly covered her mouth.

My mother turned to her and smiled softly. "You're good for my son. I know you will make him happy."

"Th-thank you!"

"You're welcome and...Oh!" My mother held out her hand towards my hoodie, and Baby Tooth jumped out. "It seems Pitch and I have a granddaughter! Which means this is Mother Nature's niece."

"And my great niece." Aster added with a chuckle.

"Oh...we really should get going. Lead the way, Aster."

I watched in awe as I stepped to my mother's side, and Aster smiled at her respectfully, held a hand to his chest, and he bowed low. "It would be my honor, Lady Pitchiner."

Mother Gasped and held a hand to her mouth. "Th-That's right...I..."

"You took the last name Pitchiner...making you the new Lady Pitchiner." Aster confirmed.

Sandy came over and offered a bow as well. "Oh...both of you stand! No bowing today! Today is a day for happiness not propriety! Let's go, Aster!" She laughed out, and both Sandy and Aster lifted themselves up with wide and grateful smiles. Aster tapped his foot to the ground twice and a tunnel opened below us.


	19. Chapter 19

Once we arrived back at Burgess, Aster was still in human form, and so was my mother. However, what was also there, was Jamie sitting at the pond by himself. "Jamie?" I called out.

Jamie's eyes locked on mine and he immediately stood up. "Jack? You're back already?"

"Yeah...had some extra business to take care of. What's wrong, kid?"

"I...wait...who are these two."

"Oh! Right! I almost forgot. Well uh...Jamie...meet my...mother. Wendy. She raised me when I was born a human and before I became a spirit. She continued to raise me after I became a spirit."

"Wow! Nice to meet you, Wendy! I'm Jamie! I'm Jack's first believer."

"Oh, I know who you are, little one." She told him with a smile. "You see...I control the winds that Jack flies through and I carry him where he wishes to go. He can get to places just fine by flying, but he moves faster with me."

"That's so cool! Wait...before you were a...You're a spirit?" He asked me.

"Yup!" I told him. "However, that's another story for another day. I promise I'll tell you, but I..."

"Mate...I don't wanna break up the reunion, but we gotta go and find that owl of yours."

Jamie fell back into the snow with his jaw dropped. "BUNNY!?"

"Ah...the little ankle-biter recognizes me." He smiled, and Jamie seemed to get even more stunned. "Ya gotta keep this a secret between the four of us, alright? It's very important. If you don't...Jack could get hurt. Ya can't tell anyone. Not your friends, your ma...no one. Alright?"

"I-I promise!"

"Good on ya! Now...why ya out here alone?"

"I was wondering if it was all a dream and...it wasn't! I'm so glad..."

"That's good." Mother told him. "I think it's best if you go on home now though. Your mother will be worried."

"Right! I didn't tell her I came out here! Shoot! Bye Jack! Bye Jack's mom!"

Once Jamie was gone I heard Mother giggle slightly. "He's a good child. Now...about your owl..."

"Right...Alistair!" I shouted and I heard him come out of the tree. I turned around and looked up. "How are you, old friend." The owl started hooting at me, and only I could understand it now.

"What brings you here, Jack? Is everything well."

"All is not well, I'm afraid. Apparently Mother Nature has been looking for me. Do you know where she's at?"

"She has indeed been looking for you. She's been worried sick about you for quite some time now. She's in Ireland right now. If you hurry you should be able to catch her. Now, if you do not mind, I am tired. Good day." The owl went back into the tree and I let out a heavy sigh.

"So, what did he say?"

"He said that she's in Ireland."

"Let's go then." Aster grinned as he summoned another tunnel.

As soon as we popped out of the tunnel, we saw shadows. "I though we got rid of them when we dealt with Pitch!" I told him.

"Yeah, apparently not! The nightmares pulled him under, but that doesn't mean his shadows didn't remain." They shadows started creeping into the woods and as they did, I heard Uncle Aster growl out, "Follow them!"

"You're not gonna turn into your Bunny form?"

"Nah..." He smirked. "...I got a few surprises for ya. Say...ya wanted to know what it would be like to race against me."

"OH YOU'RE SO ON!"

"You'll get no help from me Jack. I want in on the race too." Mother told us with a mischievous grin.

"Then let's go!" I shouted, and we were off following the shadows. Mother was bobbing and weaving through the trees, and I was actually able to keep up with Aster.

"Gettin' slow there, Jacky!?" He laughed out as he sped up.

"Oh, not a chance!" I shot back as I sped up, once again matching his speed. Eventually, we reached a tie as the shadows started surrounding Emily. "It's a tie." I whispered.

"A tie." Aster and Mother Agreed.

"Emily!" I shouted as I got closer to her.

"JACK! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN!"

"Oh...around." I told her, and noticed that Aster had quickly made his way towards us.

"You have so much explaining to do it's not even..." Her eyes widened as they landed on Aster. "...Wh-What!?"

"Let's explain later, shall we?" Aster suggested as he motioned towards the shadows.

"Yes, let's." Mother smiled as she flew towards us.

"W-Wendy!?"

"Later, Emily. Aster! Look after Jack! I'll fight along side Emily! They're used to Emily and Jack's fighting style."

"As you wish!" Aster shouted and me and him instantly were back to back. "Hey, Jacky..."

"Yeah, Aster?" I questioned with a mischievous smirk, and noticed out of the corner of my eye how a wicked smirk of his own while Emily gasped in shock.

"Wanna dance?"

"Don't mind if I do!" I laughed out and we started fighting the surrounding shadows. I blasted them with electric ice, and started to shoot shards of ice out of my staff while Aster seemed to be able to use the very earth as his weapon, trapping the shadows and commanding thorns to come forth and eradicate the trapped monstrosities. I looked around and saw how Mother was seemingly using a sword made of sharp air, and Emily was using her staff. "Aster!"

We switched and we started fighting side by side, facing opposite directions. "Are we keepin' count, Jacky Boy?"

"You mean you haven't?" I laughed out as I destroyed two more. "That makes fourteen for me."

"And..." He growled out as he destroyed another using his boomerangs. "That makes ten for me."

"Ah...getting up there in old age are ya?"

"Shut it, Frostbite." He laughed out as we switched directions. "I'll catch up!"

"Oh...like you did during the race?"

"It was a tie, we agreed."

"Yeah, yeah...just don't get all sad on me if you end up losing count."

"Not gonna happen, Jack."

Meanwhile, as we fought the shadows I could hear Mother and Emily's conversation perfectly clear as if it was happening right next to me, and I knew it was Mother's doing as she could manipulate the air so I could hear better. "You mind telling me how you're..."

"Human again? Well, technically I'm still not human, I'm still a spirit obviously, but it's part of the explanation you'll get later."

"How is it that Jack knows Aster's name?"

"Aster told him. He told him...his real name." Mother told her as she sliced through three shadows.

"You do know there's a certain amount of trust needed in order to be able to actually say someone's real name...right?"

"Of course I do. You know that. If there was no trust, there would be no way he could possibly utter it."

"But...back in '68..."

"You erased Aster's memories, and Jack already knew what type of person he was. He trusted him then after the fight, and he trusts him now."

"BUT WHY..." Emily growled out as she used vines to whip at a few shadow wolves. "...WHY ARE THEY FIGHTING TOGETHER!? HOW DID THEY COME TOGETHER! WHY IS ASTER USING HIS HUMAN FORM!?" She screamed as she took care of five shadows at once.

"All part of the explanation, Emily."

Suddenly I looked up and noticed Sandy descending down towards us. "SANDY!" I shouted happily as he came to my side with his whips.

_"Aster, do you have this handled? I'd like to fight by Jack's side."_

"You got it, Sandy." Aster told him with a broad smile. "Jacky, I'm still keepin' count!"

"Whatever, Aster. Let's go, Sandy!" I told him as I jumped onto his cloud and he flew up high into the sky, went back quite a ways away, and then we dove back down. He picked me up just like before and tossed me towards the shadows. I took out eight in a row through my path. As Aster, Sandy, and I fought, I watched Mother take Emily to the side, behind some trees, and again, I could hear the conversation clear as day while Sandy and I fought off the shadows together and helped Aster out with his own here and there.

"Wendy...Sandy and Aster..."

"All part of the explanation, Emily."

"I'm tired of you telling me that! I haven't seen Jack in years, and then I catch a glimpse of a herd of nightmare horses...then I hear nothing from him, nor the Guardians. All I know is that the Guardians started losing belief! I have heard nothing! And I've been too caught up fighting all these shadows for the past week!"

"The Guardians took care of Pitch, but that's part of the explanation. Trust me...you have to be patient. Will you please do that? For Jack?"

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Emily crossed her arms in defiance. "Fine! For Jack!"

Aster, Sandy, and I made quick work of the shadows and soon there were absolutely none left. Aster and Sandy made their way to me and they both started congratulating me and messing with my hair. "Alright, alright guys! That's enough."

"So, how many did ya get, Jacky?"

"I got twenty-six. You?"

"Ah! Afraid ya beat me by one! I got twenty-five!"

"HA! I win!"

"Wasn't a competition ya larrikin." He chuckled out as he ruffled my hair.

"Oh...and when were you going to tell me that you could control the earth!?"

"I think I did..."

"AHEM!" Emily called out with her arms crossed, as Mother made her way to my side. "Jack Frost, you have some explaining to do! Domain! Now!" She lifted up her hand and suddenly a portal enveloped us, taking us straight to her domain. "Now..." She tried to start calmly as she looked to the ground. "I want to know what's going on, and I want to know now! Start explaining!"

"Ah well...it's a long story..."

"I've got eternity, Jack! Go ahead and test my patience!"

"Emily..." Aster started with a guilty expression.

"YOU! YOU DON'T GET TO SPEAK TO ME! YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HIM!"

"Actually..." I trailed off. "...He does. He knows what really happened in '68...and he's incredibly sorry for it even though I already forgave him."

"Y-You...you told him?"

"Um...kind of?"

"That's a yes or no question!" She growled out.

"Emily! Watch yourself!" Mother warned as she gave my shoulder a protective grip.

"Me watch myself!? You dare threaten me!?"

"It's not a threat!"

"MOTHER! EMILY! STOP IT!"

"M-Mother?" Emily stuttered out.

"If you would please listen..." I sighed out. Once she seemed to stunned to say anything else I breathed another sigh, but this time in relief. "Okay...first off...I was just minding my own business in Burgess and then Bunny comes along, and has the yeti kidnap me."

"KIDNAP!? WAIT...the Yeti belong to North..."

"Getting to that...So...I get tossed into a sack and thrown through a magic portal...once I get there, they tell me I'm supposed to be a Guardian because Manny said."

"YOU WHAT!?"

"Let me finish please...Okay...I told them no. I said that I didn't want to become a Guardian, and me and Bunny got into a bit of a fight. Not physically, but I did call him a Kangaroo."

"The first time I heard you call him that was..."

"Blizzard of '68, I know. Anyway, after words were exchanged, North pulled me into his office and it was actually pretty cool. We had a bit of a heart to heart about my center...who I am. He said that if Manny chose me to be a Guardian, that meant I had something special inside. After that, there was trouble at the Tooth Palace, and when we got there using the sleigh, which I absolutely love, and I'm hoping that maybe North can teach me how to fly it..."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Aster, Emily, and Mother chorused together, meanwhile, Sandy was smiling like a fool, seemingly thinking it would be a great idea as well.

"Fine...anyway...there were nightmare horses and they were taking the teeth and the tooth fairies. I caught one in the air and accidentally named her...see?" I held out my hand and Baby Tooth came out and chirped happily at everyone. "This is Baby Tooth...and I'll get more into that later..." I put Baby Tooth back in my hoodie as I continued, "So...Pitch was there...he had a big plan getting everyone together, and then he realized I was there...He wanted to be believed in again and taunted the others. Then, we chased him away, but it was too late...a lot of the memories were gone...pretty much all of them...then, I found out from Tooth that she had everyone's...including mine. North said that if I helped them I could get my memories back...I didn't even know I had memories I needed to get back!" I laughed out, but she seemed to flinch harshly at my words. "Anyway, she started not to be believed in, so we helped her collect the teeth by making it a race and...'

"And I won that one!" Aster said proudly.

"North won and you know it."

"It's cheating if he goes. He always carries a sack and is constantly goin' in and out of houses."

"I'm gonna tell him you said that...anyway...after that...We were are Jamie's house, collecting the tooth he lost from a sled ride I gave him and then a grayhound got woken up and started attacking Bunny. Sandy tried to knock the dog out, but got everyone else instead. Only Sandy and I were left awake. Then, we both saw the nightmare horse outside the window, and I chased after it, telling Sandy to come with me, saying that we could find Pitch. We raced to get all the nightmare horses we could and I finally got one! Pitch showed up again, trying to tell me it wasn't my fight, but then Sandy used his whips and knocked him around back and forth between building walls before tossing him out onto the street with a pissed off glare."

"Language." Mother commented.

"Oh, you know I've said worse."

"Yes, unfortunately I do." She replied as she crossed her arms while she rolled her eyes.

"Anyway, Pitch soon sent nightmares after Sandy and I...then the others finally came to the battle and we all fought in the sky. However, Sandy ended up fighting off a horde of nightmare horses...We made our way to help him, but Pitch got him with some kind of nightmare arrow...he...he killed him."

"B-But...he stands before me right now..."

"I know...don't worry, I'll get to that. So, as I was flying towards him, I was ready to face Pitch on my own too, but then he sent a wall of nightmare horses after me, but I felt so much anger and heartache at losing Sandy...I created a large white blast that lit up the sky so much it didn't even look like nighttime anymore. I directed the blast at Pitch, knocking both of us out of the sky."

"J-Jack that's..."

"Yeah, I didn't know I could do it either. So, after that...we had a funeral for Sandy, but then Bunny didn't want us to be down and he wanted us to work together for Easter so that we could get the lights on again, because the lights on the globe of belief were going out. It was Pitch's plan...anyway, he took us all to the Warren and..."

"He...let people into the Warren?"

"Yeah, it was an emergency. Anyway, after that, there was a little girl that accidentally got in via North's snow globe, and once all the eggs were painted and on their way, I took her home. I told you how I figured out how I could do that...anyway, once she was home, I planned on getting back, but then I heard a voice. It was familiar. I kept hearing and followed it all the way to Pitch's lair. Baby Tooth tried so hard to get me to leave and return to the others, but I wouldn't listen...then...I ended up getting trapped there with Pitch taunting me about my memories until he just gave me my memory box. I asked him what he did, then he asked me the same question. I chased after him and then I noticed all of the crushed eggs. I quickly made my way to the others and watched as Bunny got walked through like I did. Tooth and North saw me with my tooth box and...well...they wouldn't let me explain myself, but they thought I had traded Baby Tooth for my memories..."

"THEY WHAT!?"

"Just...let me finish...Bunny came up and said that I had to go...that they should've never trusted me, and I made my way to Antarctica. Once there, it was just me and Pitch again. He tried to get me to join him, and I refused. Then, he held Baby Tooth hostage...and asked for my staff."

"Oh, Jack...tell me you didn't..."

"I did. I gave him my staff for Baby Tooth, but then he didn't give her to me, so she stabbed him in the thumb, and he threw her against the wall. Then he...he snapped my staff in two."

"JACK! HOW ARE YOU...!? Um...c-continue..."

 _'She knows about the staff thing too...of course she would.'_  I silently smiled to myself, hopefully not showing it on my face. "He then tossed me into the same ravine and I lost consciousness after the pain he caused from breaking my staff. Once he tossed my staff into the same ravine Baby Tooth and I were in, I woke up, and tried to comfort Baby Tooth, but all I could do was keep her cold. I told her Pitch was right...that I make a mess of everything...and then she pulled out my memory box. She told me to look inside and I did! I found out I had a sister and I saved her Emily! I also...I also found out that's how I became a spirit...and why I was chosen to be a Guardian. So...after gaining a bunch more determination and hope, I tried to put my staff back together, but it didn't work the first time. However, the second time, I focused on everything the other Guardians represent and I was able to mend my staff."

"Y-You what!?"

"Yeah, crazy I know." I chuckled out. "So, after that, I made my way back to Pitch's lair to try and set the fairies free, but they couldn't fly. Then, I noticed Pitch's belief globe. The lights were going out. All but one, and I knew it was Jamie. I made my way to his place, and he was just on the verge of disbelief. I frosted the window and drew an egg...he admitted the Easter Bunny was real, just after not believing in him anymore. Then, I thought I could do more, and I did! I drew a bunny next and focused on something Bunny told me...and I brought the drawing to life. Jamie believed again, and you'll never guess what happened...HE BELIEVED IN ME TOO! He could hear me and...HE COULD SEE ME!"

"H-He saw you? A child saw you?"

"YEAH! And not long after that, we got his friends to believe and see me too! They helped us fight against Pitch. Jamie was the bravest of them all, and somehow managed to turn the nightmare sand into golden sand like Sandy's! We all fought and it was awesome! Then, just as Pitch was about to slice me with his scythe, Sandy came back and yanked Pitch away using his whips. The kids didn't see or believe in Pitch after that...he ran away scared...then the nightmare horses took him back into his lair, and the hole closed up. Once he was gone...I took the oath to be a Guardian. I'm the Guardian of Joy and Fun!"

"Y-You're a-a Guardian!?" She started to sway, but Mother caught her in time and helped her get steady once more.

"Yeah! But there's more!"

"How could there possibly be more!?" She shouted as she gaped at me in shock.

"I...well...apparently there's this super secret thing that the Guardians did...and since I was a new Guardian I did it too. Manny used my memory box to take me all the way from my birth to the present. A lot of memories weren't there of course, but afterwards they all came rushing back. However, during it...I found out...who I really am."

"Y-You know...?" She questioned with a hopeful tone.

"Yeah, and that's how Aster found out what happened during the blizzard of '68. Guess we really are related, huh,  _dear sister._ "

"J-Jack!" She whimpered out as she fell to her knees. "F-For s-so long I wanted to tell you..."

"I know...but I understand why you couldn't." I told her as I crouched down to her. "Let me tell ya...When Sandy and Aster saw my 'staff bonding ceremony' I didn't much like the bowing..."

She gave a dry laugh. "No, I suppose you wouldn't. I didn't like it either. So...you know everything. You know that you're Pitch's..."

"That my father is Pitch Black, or before the black gate incident...was known as Kozmotis Pitchiner? And that you're really my sister? That I know that the Easter Bunny is my Uncle? That I know that he raised and trained me and that I'm basically a prince? That I know that he asked me to get the Guardians if he should turn back into the Boogeyman? Yes, I know all of that, but because of Manny...I know much, much more...and it's what I'll need your help with."

"W-What is it?" She asked as tears of relief and Joy fell from her eyes.

"In the memories...Manny allowed us to hear Father war with the darkness on the inside after I was turned into a spirit. He fought and fought, all the way until he was sucked down the hole again. Do you remember when we were face to face with Father together?" She nodded so I continued, "Well...when he backed away and disappeared that was Father directly fighting with the darkness. He continued to fight when I was fighting alongside the Guardians..."

"So...he's still in there?"

"Yes, very much so, and if the memories were correct, he's starting to gain some control back, but I don't want him to be alone when he does. I don't want the darkness to take over."

"Y-You want to get him back!?"

"Yes. As an infant I was able to bring back the rest of his humanity...I think I can get through to him and help him conquer the darkness again."

"I...this is all so much...You...you know everything...and...that blast after Sandy died..."

"Sandy explained it to me...it's truly how I feel...oh...and I should probably mention that the Tooth Fairy is my girlfriend now."

"Y-You have a girlfriend!? And it's the Tooth Fairy!?"

"I approved." Mother stated with a smug grin.

"W-Well...j-just...You know who you really are and..." She then noticed my staff. "Your staff...it's not frosted anymore...you've...you've found yourself completely!"

"That's what I've been trying to tell you."

"I...this...it's all so much...after so long of keeping it a secret...but...if there's a chance we can get Father back...I want to take it. I will go with you! However, I will only do so on one condition...You wear something I made you. I made it...while I was depressed with my knowing the real you..."

"You made me an outfit?'

"Yes, I did...Come." We followed her inside her castle, and we walked into her room. She stepped into her closet, and knocked on the wall, causing a hidden closet to open. She reached inside and pulled out an ice blue vest that matched my eyes and it had silver intricate swirls and snowflakes on it, underneath it was a shirt very similar to my colonial shirt with it's loose sleeves, but it was black instead of white. The pants were black and they actually matched the style of the pants I was already wearing. It even had black leather straps around the calves of the leg, and I was so glad she didn't include shoes. "It...um...may look a bit ridiculous..."

"I love it...let me go get changed."

"Good...the only thing about your outfit that's changed is that hoodie. I know you're wearing the same colonial shirt..."

I nodded my head and set my staff against the wall, and I put myself in her bathroom to change. Once I was done, I was impressed with how I looked. I actually looked like a prince, just without the crown. I stepped out and everyone gasped. "Okay...so not good?'

"No, ya got it wrong, Jacky." Aster told me as he started to smile. "Knowin' you're the true prince is one thing. Seein' it, though, is entirely different. You look every bit like a prince."

Sandy nodded and allowed his images to float above his head. "I remember when Kozmotis used to wear something similar when he was young."

"Wow...how old are you guys?"

"Older than ya can possibly imagine, Jacky." Aster smiled at me. "Now...I do believe we have someone to save from the darkness."

"Right!"


	20. Chapter 20

We used one of Emily's portals, and I showed them the way to where the bed was. "It's down there."

"Aster, would you like to help me?" Emily asked with a small smile.

"Be glad to." They stood across from each other, and then they both carefully crouched down, placing their hands over one another. Suddenly, the hole reappeared and it was even a bit bigger this time. "That should do it. After you, Jacky. Just remember...if the darkness gives its word, it's unbreakable."

"Thank you." I told them and I jumped down. Once I was in, I tapped my staff against the wall signaling for them to come down. Once they did, I led us to the bridges, but told them to stay in the shadows so it looked like I came alone. "BOOGEYMAN!" I shouted in agitation, and I heard my voice echo through out the underground.

 _ **"What do you want, Frost!? And...what is with your outfit? Not that it isn't an improvement, but it doesn't suit you."**_  I heard from in front of me and out of the shadows came Pitch and one nightmare horse followed behind him.

"I want to talk."

**_"Oh? Now, I'm intrigued! You didn't seem so eager to talk before!"_ **

"I never said I wanted to talk to you!"

 ** _"My boy...you must be severely confused if you thought you would find anyone else down here."_**  Pitch laughed, but I could tell from his eyes that my father was still in there, but I couldn't outright say that.

"Oh, but there is another person in here."

 _ **"What do you mean?"**_  He asked as he furrowed his brow to me with a skeptical look in his eyes.

"Oh, you mean you don't know?" I propped my staff on the back of my shoulders and rested my elbows on it. "Well, can't say I'm surprised."

 _ **"Tell me! Who else would be down here?"**_  He growled out.

"Tsk tsk tsk...and here I thought even the boogeyman would have manners! Is that anyway to treat a guest?" I questioned and quickly avoided the scythe that made it's way towards me.

 ** _"You are no guest of mine."_  **As I looked at his eyes I saw a quick flash of silver in his eyes and watched as the gold briefly dimmed before lighting back up.

 _'Now or never I guess.'_  I nodded my head at him. "Well, fine...if that's the way you want to play it. What if I told you...I thought about your offer?"

**_"Oh? And what of your precious Guardians?"_ **

"You mean the ones who abandoned me for three hundred years? Played me and blackmailed me into trusting them? I left the North Pole a couple of hours ago. North and the others don't know where I'm at."

An evil and vile smirk crossed Pitch's face as he chuckled darkly.  _ **"So, you will accept my offer at joining me?"**_

"I..." I drawled out with a smirk. "...never said that."

_**"Yes, you did."** _

"No, I said I thought about your offer."

_**"I only made one offer, boy!"** _

"No, I think you'll find you made two offers. One for not being alone and the other to bring about fear everywhere."

 ** _"Hmm...so I did."_**  He growled low."

"I just have this one little problem, Boogeyman. If you can take care of it for me, I'll think further on the offer."

 _ **"What is it?"**_  He questioned with a smug grin.

"It's about the other person that's in here." I told him as I stepped closer. "It's very important to me, and the thing is...only you can do it."

**_"Oh! And what makes you so sure?"_ **

"Because you are incredibly powerful! I watched what you did at Easter and with the children...and our ice sculpture was truly was beautiful. I just need you to do one thing for me, and I will give you my definite answer while I stay away from North!"

**_"What is it?"_ **

"First, give me your word that you will do as I ask. You do that...and we won't be alone anymore, I swear it." I told him, but I was really telling my father. I held out my hand to him and he seemed to contemplate taking it.

 ** _"Jack Frost, I give you my word that I will do as you ask. I give you my word on the bond of the darkness I hold!"_**  He took my hand with confidence and a smug grin.  _ **"Now, tell me so we are no longer alone and we can be believed in together."**_

I glared at him darkly and felt pure rage come to the surface as I growled out, "RELEASE YOUR HOLD ON MY FATHER!" I then quickly yanked him into a hug as he started screaming in agony.  _'Wow...that seemed to actually work.'_  I thought to myself quickly. Once the thrashing stopped I let go of him and to my complete and utter shock, there stood two people before me, and they both seemed to be floating. To my right stood the Pitch I've known since I was an infant, but to my left...I saw a king. He wore golden armor with finely thinned etchings that swirled beautifully on the armor. He was also wearing a green and golden cape, but he had no gloves or gauntlets of any kind. His hair was smoother and less up in spikes, it even resembled Aster's in some ways, aside from the long ponytail, of course, because even though his hair was looser, it was still short to medium length. His skin color was no longer grey, but a pale peach color.

Once the both of them landed, they both gasped for breath. The dark Pitch looked at me with complete disgust.  ** _"HOW THE HELL DID YOU...!"_**

My eyes instantly went wide as the other Pitch started to stand as he stared at me in disbelief before turning his gaze to the darkness. "Wh-? How!?"

 _ **"That is what I would like to know as well!"**_  The darkness growled out.

"Father?" I carefully asked, and my heart instantly started pounding as the armored Pitch froze, but slowly turned to face me.

"Wh-What did you c-call me?"

"Father. I called you Father. You're my Father, aren't you." I asked frantically as I noticed the rage and fury only growing in the darker Pitch's purely golden eyes.

"J-Jack!" He cried out as tears immediately started falling. He fell to his knees as he looked at me. "Y-Your back! My boy!"

_**"HOW!? I'VE HAD HIM TRAPPED FOR MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF YEARS! HOW DID YOU PUSH ME SO FAR OUT!?"** _

"I learned that you couldn't break your word once it's given!" I spat back.

 ** _"YOU WILL PAY!"_**  He growled out and brought forth the all too familiar black scythe, but before I could even flinch, my eyes instantly saw a green and golden cape cover my vision for a brief moment as a much more beautiful scythe clashed against the nightmarish one. The one that appeared against the black one had a beautifully crafted glass blade that was tinted green. It had gold covering the top and the golden metal swirled down the white staff portion of the scythe, showing it's beautiful emeralds encrusted into the twisting golden metal.

"YOU WILL NOT HARM MY SON! NEVER AGAIN!" I heard my father growl out as he then started to fight back against the darkness.

 _ **"E-EVENTUALLY HE WILL F-FORGET YOU AGAIN!"**_  The darkness stuttered out as it parried Father's attacks.

"If he does, then so be it! But I will NEVER let you or ANYONE ELSE harm him EVER AGAIN!"

 _ **"YOU CAN'T KEEP HIM FROM PAIN FOREVER!"**_  The darkness shouted as it slammed down it's scythe, nearly getting Father in the process. I looked back behind me and mouthed for Aster to come out, but quietly.

"No, I can't, but he's proven he can hold his own!"

However, Aster didn't come out quietly. He rushed forward with cocky grin. "Mind if I cut in?" I heard him say, and I couldn't help the wide smile that appeared on my face.

"Aster!? And you're in human form!?" Father questioned in shock as he continued to fight the darkness.

"You have your son to thank for that!"

"Y-YOU KN-KNOW A-ABOUT HIM!?" He questioned with a hint of fear.

"Of course I know about him. He's officially a Guardian."

"HE'S A WHAT!?" Father asked as he attacked the darkness with such a force that it was knocked back about ten feet.

"Took the oath and everythin'."

"I...I suspected that's why he was with you all. The darkness thought the same thing...but I didn't actually think..."

"Oh, don't worry, we have plenty of time for questions later. A couple of surprises for ya too...but ya never answered my question."

"What question!" He growled out as he blocked an attack from the darkness that caused him to take a few steps back.

"Mind if I cut in?"

"Cut in?" He laughed out with pure amusement. "I'm afraid I would have to ask you to dance!"

As an open smile appeared on my face, and as my eyes widened in amazement, I watched as Aster and Father fought side by side against the darkness. Then, the darkness cackled.  ** _"I STILL HAVE CONTROL OVER THE DARKNESS AND SHADOWS!"_**

Suddenly darkness surrounded me, and I couldn't see Aster and Father. "JACK!" I heard them both shout as my entire vision darkened, leaving only my hearing, smell, taste, and touch. Then, I saw a bright yellow light, and heard the crack of a whip. Once enough of the darkness was gone, Sandy yanked me out of the cocoon they apparently had me in and he placed me back on the bridge, away from the shadows.

"I think it's time to bring in the rest."

"THE REST!? FIRST IT'S JACK AND FREEING ME FROM THE DARKNESS, THEN IT'S ASTER, AFTER HIM IS SANDY, AND THERE'S STILL MORE!?" Father shouted as he and Aster continued to fight side by side, taking their own unique turns of attacks against the darkness.

"Well, if you count your daughter among them then yes!" Emily shouted as she came forward, and practically flew past Father.

"E-Emily!?" He stuttered out as his attack faltered due to the shock of seeing his daughter, and probably the fact that she called herself his daughter at that moment.

Suddenly I felt the wind surround me and Mother whispered in my ear. "I can change forms, won't HE be surprised when he sees me in a solid form!" Then she picked me up and took me to Emily.

"Ah, nice of you to actually join us, Little Brother!"

"Care to make a game of this, Dear sister?"

"Oh, Jack...you know how much I LOVE our games!" She laughed wickedly and we both tapped our staffs together, creating a 'noble power share' as Aster put it. Once the glowing stopped we briefly turned to look at Father and his eyes were wide in astonishment. "I do believe we've shocked Father so much he can't even speak." She laughed out as her left eye turned ice blue.

"Yes, well, we can focus on that later. Back to our game!?"

 _ **"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!?"**_  The darkness shouted, but Emily and I ignored the creature's words as we started to attack it along with Sandy and Aster's help.

I summoned a thunder snow tornado and pointed it at the darkness while Emily held the darkness still using ice vines that had thorns made of ice so sharp it was like it was getting cut up by pure glass blades. Sandy whipped at the monster before us, trying to pull away the scythe, but he got a good hit in on its face. Meanwhile, Aster was summoning the powers of nature to fight off the shadows that started to surround us. I briefly looked behind me, and noticed how stunned Father was. "You gonna just stand there?" I asked him with a cocky grin.

"I...I..." He stuttered out, but quickly composed himself and started fighting back to back with Aster. "Y-You'll explain a-after the battle, right!?"

"We will ALL explain."

"Very well."

At his words we all started attacking our own enemies, and we went back to attacking the darkness. I took away my thunder snow tornado and allowed Mother to take me into the air so I could summon my own daggers of ice that held thorns of their own while being shaped like leaves. I sent it after him and I watched in mild fascination as it cut up the creature's skin, and it bled black. I just thought the blood earlier was dark red, but it was black.  ** _"Y-YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME!"_**  He shouted just like he had said at the lake.

"Oh, we can't can we?" Father challenged. "Sanderson! Cover Aster!" He shouted, and almost like switching gears, Sandy and Father switched without further prompting. Once he was over to us, he looked at me and Emily and smiled. "I need the two of you to both hold him with vines. Do you think you can do that?"

"YES!" We answered in unison and we both conjured our own vines. Her's were almost like normal vines, but the thorns were made of sharp ice, while mine were entirely made of ice, and had similar thorns. Once we had him place, and after I wrapped a few extra vines around the creature's scythe, Father took his beautiful scythe and plunged it into the creature's heart.

Suddenly, there was a brilliant bright light that erupted from where Father's scythe had plunged into, and we all looked around in pure astonishment and wonder as our surroundings practically dissolved to reveal the palace in my memories. However, I found it even more beautiful than the one in my memories. It was brilliant, bright, magnificent, and it felt like home. Then, we all heard the creature screaming in agony, forcing us away from our gawking of our surroundings. I looked at the creature and the brilliant light seemed to practically burn him alive. Then, he was gone, leaving only his black scythe. "What um...what are we going to do with that?" I asked cautiously.

I looked to Father and he pursed his lips to the side as he sighed out through his nose, walking towards the black scythe. "Unfortunately, he's right, there will always be fear...and fear  _IS_  needed...but only to an extent. With him gone, fear still needs to be given..." He set down his scythe next to the black one, the points of the blades nearly touching, and he carefully placed his hand on the black one. I watched in awe as he closed his eyes, and slowly lifted his hand, pulling out a ball of swirling darkness. The ball got, the more the scythe started to disappear until it had completely vanished. Then, with complete concentration, he carefully placed the ball into the blade of his own scythe until the ball practically melted all the way into it. Then, the once beautiful glass blade, was still beautiful, but it now held constant swirling black smoke inside it. He picked up his scythe and examined it as he straightened himself to stand. "That should do it."

"What did ya do?" Aster asked curiously.

"Aster...do you remember what my power is?"

"Light manipulation and light magic..."

"Correct. Darkness is just an absence of light, and just barely falls under the category, but is still there, it is merely an absence of it. I took the darkness of the dark scythe and melded it with my light scythe."

"Ah, I see now." Aster said as he stepped forward to look at the newly formed scythe.

"I'm glad you do. Now...I would like an explanation from you all." He stated as he tapped his scythe and allowed it to be sucked into the floor until it was completely gone. Once it was gone he crossed his arms and looked at all of us.

"Ah...well...ya see..." Aster began. "It's a long story."

"It's a good thing I have time then." He smirked, and I was beginning to notice some of the similarities I had with my Father.

"Well, it starts off like this..." I told him and started giving him the same explanation, and this time NO ONE interrupted. I told him all the way until we got here. "...and Emily had the idea that if I were to get the darkness to give me it's word, and then make a request that it might work. None of us were sure it would work, but it did, and well...you know the rest."

"So...let me get this straight..." He started with his eyes closed in irritation. "You were kidnapped...blackmailed...abandoned...blamed...and then when it was convenient...THEN they decided to welcome you with open arms!?" His silver eyes opened and glared at Aster in particular.

"Ah...well, when you put it like that..."

"Father...it may be easier if you hold Jack's staff." Emily suggested.

"Wait...what does him holding my staff have to do with anything?" I quickly asked.

"It's how I knew who you really were so long ago. I grabbed your staff wondering why it had the same energy as mine, and I saw..."

"You saw his entire past..." Father trailed off with widened eyes.

"Well...up until he was made a spirit."

He looked at my staff and let out a heavy sigh as he shook his head. "Jack, can you please give me your staff?"

"Wait...but you've already held my staff..."

"No, the darkness did. It wasn't a conscious effort on my part and I wasn't completely myself. Now that I am..." He trailed off as he held out his hand.

"How um...how long will it take for you to see everything?"

"From your birth to now?" I nodded. "It should only take about two or three hours. If you don't mind waiting..."

"We don't mind." Aster said as he placed a hand on my shoulder, giving Father a fond smile.

"Very well...Jack...?" I nodded my head and handed him my staff. Once he held it he immediately sat down and closed his eyes.

Emily and I reversed our power share, but then for three solid hours we sat there quietly, not doing anything but breathing and waiting. It's not so bad when you're an immortal spirit, but the anticipation is annoying. About another five minutes, Father opened his eyes and took in a breath of shock like I did when I saw my memories for the first time. "How far did you get?"

"I only got as far as you arriving back at the North Pole with the others after the battle. At that, I was starting to get a headache...I can pretty much guess the rest as you've told me."

"And?"

"And...You've been through a lot. I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault."

"I should've been there for you...I should've been stronger..." He looked down at the ground, still in his sitting position and I noticed he was crying, but I let him continue. "...you had no memories! You had nothing! Again! You were first born with nothing and then you were reborn with nothing again! It...It was like losing you all over again, but you were alive...I should've..." His voice cracked slightly at his last words, but none of us said anything. "...and then I saw you with the Guardians and although I was overjoyed you were still alive, I didn't want to fight you. Then, it turns out that you're a lot stronger than I thought, and...Jack...when he...when the darkness...broke your staff...I truly thought he had killed you. My will to go on almost snapped along with your staff. Then, you turned out to be alive again...and I was sobbing on the inside, because...because you were alive. Oh...and the blast you did for Sandy...have um...have you been told about that?"

 _'Right...I left that part out...'_  I reprimanded myself. "Yes, I was told."

"I'm guessing it was during the memory trip you told me about."

"Yes." I told him with an honest smile.

He turned his eyes to Sandy, giving him a broad and warm smile. Then he turned to look at Aster and Emily. "You all...you've been looking after my son...but you've done more than that. Emily...you looked after him as your true brother. Aster, in the beginning you weren't kind, but during the battle you protected him with your life. I noticed very quickly how you stayed closest to Jack in the battle against the darkness where the children were involved. You even tried to stop the scythe, and the look of panic and heartbreak in your eyes was so pure..." He trailed off as he then returned his gaze to Sandy. "...and you Sanderson...I'm able to hear your thoughts, you remember?"

"I do..." Sandy said with his symbols as a smile was plastered to his face.

"Then you'll know that I know what you told the darkness even if it couldn't hear you."

"I had a suspicion..." He nodded his head.

"You'll look after Jack as your own brother?"

"Will he!?" Aster laughed out. "After he found out what happened at Easter he immediately started attackin' us with his whips. Only Jack was able to get him to stop, and then he gave us the lecture of a lifetime. Strewth, he gave us the lecture of a Pooka's lifetime."

"My word..." Father whispered out in shock. "...to think you would turn against the other Guardians."

"For Jack I would..." He said with both his symbols and his mind, and as if he just realized what he said he reached up to try and shake away the sand.

"Too late for that, mate." Aster laughed out. "Can't say I blame ya...I would do the same."

"No, neither of you can. You have to stay with the Guardians...for the children."

"Jacky..." Aster started with pleading eyes.

"Don't 'Jacky' me! You know how important both of you are to the children. You can't be going against one another just to protect me! It's wrong, and although it's flattering, it doesn't make me happy to see my family fighting with each other."

"What about me and North arguing about Easter and Christmas?" Aster questioned as he crossed his arms.

"Just...no physical fighting. I don't care if you argue, families always argue...but no physical fights...not over me at the very least...please?"

"You have my word, Jack." Aster promised me with a proud grin.

"And mine." Sandy added.

"Good. Now..." I turned to face Father who had now been standing, and I looked up at him. "...there is  _ONE_  little thing we forgot to mention..."

"What is it?" He questioned with a concerned look in his eyes.

"It's about Mother."

"Is she alright?" He asked as his eyes went wide.

Suddenly, a violet light shined and dissipated almost in the same breath. "I'm better than alright." She said as she came up behind me and placed her hands on my shoulders in a loving manner. I looked up at her and smiled before I looked at Father's reaction, and it was amazing. He was completely speechless and seemed to be breathless as well. His eyes were wide and his jaw was dropped ever so slightly. "Kozmotis?" She questioned carefully.

"Y-You..." He looked at her, then me, and then her again. He let out a shaky breath. "W-Wendy?"

"Yes, love?" She asked, and I stepped to the side to allow them the space they were likely to need soon.

"Y-You're..." He seemed to swallow a lump in his throat as he stared at Mother, and she began to blush lightly.

"This is what I used to look like before I was turned into the spirit of the wind. It seems the Man in the Moon gave Jack my hair and eye color."

"I...you're..."

"I'm very real, yes." She laughed out warmly. She walked up to him and placed a hand on his cheek lovingly. He gasped at the action, and quickly yet gently grabber her hand in shock.

"You're..." He gasped as he held her hand, allowing it to stay on his cheek. "...real. You're actually..." Suddenly, I watched as my Father kissed my Mother and held her close with all his might. They both sighed into the kiss and she wrapped her arms around him, and oddly enough, it wasn't nearly as awkward as I thought it would be. I actually found it very sweet.

After a short while they separated and they both had to calm their breathing. "That...was better than I expected."

"You expected that?" Father asked with a slight smirk.

"I had hoped. Now...Kozmotis...I want you to take a good look at everything around you."

He did as she asked and his eyes widened. "It's..."

"I figured you didn't notice."

"Home...my home..." He stated warmly. "It's back to normal."

"Yes, now look at them, and look at us."

He did as she asked once again and I went to stand next to Emily while Aster stood on the other side of Emily, and Sandy stood to my left. "I...this is...it's..."

"It's like the stories you used to tell Jack about."

"The...The Golden Age..."

"You've already started by getting rid of the physical embodiment of darkness."

"I...but that's impossible...it can't be started again..."

"You're right, Koz, it can't." Aster stepped forward. "However, no one said anything about not starting a silver age. Nothing will be like it was during The Golden Age...but what's just under gold? Silver. You have your generals..." He pointed to himself and then Sandy. "...you have your children..." He then pointed to me and Emily. "...you have your wife..." He pointed to Mother. "...and I'm sure if North and Tooth saw you, you would have the Guardians as well. And instead of it being like The Golden Age where we protected the universe...we can all protect the children of the world together. Guardians or not."

"Wait...but...what about the Guardians?"

"Oh, the Guardians would still be very much alive." Father said. "What I think Aster is asking is for me, your sister, and your mother to be the eyes, ears, and defenses for the Guardians. Sort of like...Guardians of the Guardians, am I right about that, Aster?"

"Got it in one! There's also the fact that while we're busy preparing and handling our holidays and jobs, the three of you can keep an eye out for any reckless and troublesome spirits that mean to do harm. That way, we can move into action before it becomes a problem or before..." Aster let out a heavy guilt ridden sigh as he looked at me. "...before a spirit has to deal with another spirit on their own. So yes, Eyes, Ears, and defenses. I'm sure North wouldn't object."

"I for one think it's a great idea." Emily mentioned with an excited smile. "Father, you'll be able to give necessary fears. Fears of danger, darkness, and other stuff that mortals need to be afraid of, and you'll be able to actually vanquish unnecessary fears. You'll also be able to hide in the shadows as well as the light like you used to. Wendy will be able to keep an eye on things from the air, and both Jack and I will be able to know what the animals and creatures have seen or heard."

"Wait...Jack?" Father's eyes widened.

"Yes, I gave him the gift some time ago. He's used it to find me. I thought you saw that in his memories..."

"I-I did, but I wasn't exactly sure if...well...it WAS his memories after all...I should've known...and I did see you give him the gift..."

"Good...so that will be what we do, we'll tell North of the plan, but first...Jack, you forgot to mention one more thing."

"Um...no I didn't." I quickly said as a chill of nervousness went up my spine.

"Oh, you did!" Mother squealed.

"No. I. Didn't!" I growled out in embarrassment, and I could feel the blush tint my cheeks.

"Jackson Overland Frost Pitchiner, what haven't you told me?" All of us gasped at my new last name. "What?" He asked with a shrug. "I'm no longer tied completely to the darkness, and I have no need to fear for my last name. Neither should Jack. Now, what is it you haven't told me, Jack?"

"I'll give you a hint, Father!" Emily came forward with an all too delighted grin, and pure mischief in her eyes. "Turns out I have a niece!"

"A-A N-Niece! That would mean...that Jack..."

"I...have a...I have a daughter." I told him, and watched in mild amusement but mostly embarrassment as Father instantly grew paler.

"I...I have a granddaughter!?"

"Yes, would you um...would you like to..." Suddenly the moon shined through and Baby Tooth flew out to meet it with pure excitement. Then, we all watched in amazement as Manny altered her size almost entirely until she seemed to be my age. "Um...Manny...WHAT THE HELL!?"

_**"I figured if I could give Wendy a solid form I could do something a bit similar but different to Baby Tooth. Although the thought occurred to me an hour ago, I thought I would try it. Seems it worked. Have fun with your discussion. Oh, and everyone should be able to understand her now."** _

"Baby Tooth?" I asked cautiously, and as the bright moon beam still shined on her, she lost her feathers and gained a much more human appearance, and was wearing a beautiful shimmering blue dress that had lace snowflakes at the bottom and tank top straps. Her hair changed to the same hair color as mine, but it also had light blue highlights. She still had wings, but they more like fairy wings than before. They curved and pointed just like the fairies in a book, and they were nearly transparent. Once the moon beam left her, she landed and looked at me with pure delight in her new sapphire colored eyes. "B-Baby T-Tooth!?"

"Daddy!" She shouted with an overjoyed tone as she flew to me, and wrapped her arms around me.

I instinctively wrapped my free arm around her. I gave her a tight hug, before lightly letting go, allowing her to leave the hug and stand in front of me. "Wow! Manny's been really nice to everyone today! Wow! Look at my pretty dress, Daddy!"

"I see it." I told her in a tone I only recognized coming from my father, which told me I had somehow been able to say something to her in a father tone. "You look beautiful, sweetie." My eyes widened at my own words.  _'It feels so natural...'_  Then my eyes caught sight of my Father and he looked about ready to faint if it wasn't for Mother holding him up.  _'Ah...right...explanation time.'_  I motioned for her to stand by my side and she did so with a happy grin, and her wings were fluttering so excitedly it was a wonder how she hadn't taken off to the ceiling. "Um...Father...this is my daughter...Baby Tooth..."

"She...Before she changed...she looked like one of..."

"She was. She was one of Tooth's fairies, but then I accidentally gave her a name...and she um...became my daughter. The Tooth Fairy...is also my girlfriend."

"She...you...I...I'm..."

"She's our Granddaughter, love. You're her Grandfather." Mother whispered lovingly, but at a level where we could all still hear her.

"G-Granddaughter!" He squeaked out.

"Yes...but..." Mother started, but then looked at Baby Tooth. "...you know...she can't be called Baby Tooth anymore because well...she's not a baby...and she's not wholly a tooth fairy anymore."

"OH! Do I get a new name!?" Baby Tooth questioned as she looked up at Mother with pure joy in her eyes. So much so, that I couldn't help but smile.

"That depends...do you want a new name?"

"If I do get a new name, I know exactly what I want it to be!"

"Oh?" I asked as I started smirking slightly. "And what would that name be?"

"Sarah!" She squeaked out with a smile that caused even her eyes to smile. Meanwhile, I was staring at her in shock. "It was the name of your honorary sister! The one that led to you being a spirit and then in turn...led to you meeting me and the others and your family and just...YAY!"

"Wow! She's quite the hyper one, isn't she." Emily laughed out.

"She has a perfect combination of both Jack and Tooth." Aster mentioned with a smirk of his own. "She has Tooth's hyperness and Jack's overwhelming sense to find joy in nearly everything.

Choosing to ignore them, I looked at Baby Tooth, who then looked at me with patience in her eyes. Only a small bit, but it was there none the less. "Sarah, huh?" She frantically nodded her head. "Well...then you'll have quite a long name. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

"Alright. Your name is Sarah Baby-Tooth Pitchiner." She glowed brightly for only a brief moment and then she proceeded to fly into the air, laughing joyously.

Once she finally came down, she nearly tackled me, but I caught her. "Thank you, Daddy!"

"You're quite welcome. Now, I think you should probably go say something to your Grandfather. He's been staring at you in shock for quite some time."

"Oh! Right! I need to introduce myself! Manners!" She quickly flew over to Father and firmly planted her feet in front of him. "Hello, Grandfather! My name is Sarah Baby-Tooth Pitchiner!"

"H-Hello..." He stuttered out, but the longer he looked at her, the more he started to look at her fondly. "...I-I'm your Grandfather." It didn't seem like a greeting, but more of a joyful realization

"Nice to meet you!" She said as she flew up to hug him.

"Nice to meet you too, Sarah."

"Oh!" She seemed to calm down as she smiled up at him. "We should go tell Papa North and Mama that you're no longer plagued by darkness."

"Yeah, we probably should, and your mother will be in for quite the surprise." I told her. I then looked at Father and he seemed a bit worried. "It'll be fine. We'll be there with you. If our 'Silver Age' plan is to work, everyone has to know that they're involved."

"Right...Then, let's go."

oOoOoOoOoOoOo

Once we got to North's I noticed that Tooth was already there. "Uh...hi, Tooth." I told her as we all came up behind her while she was staring at the globe of belief.

"Jack!" She shouted excitedly but then she saw who was behind me and immediately started going after him. I held my staff across him to guard him, and Emily did the same. "Jack?"

"He's not who you think he is! If you'll let us explain..."

"Explain what?" North questioned as he made his way towards us. He quickly noticed who Tooth had just tried to attack, and he calmly walked closer. "Hmm...You are not Pitch Black we know."

"H-How do you know?" I heard Father ask in astonishment.

"Three reasons. Different clothes, there's a peaceful look in your eyes, and...I feel it in my belly."

"North, but he...!"

"Has the protection of Jack, Mother Nature, Wendy, Bunny, and Sandy." Then his eyes traveled down to Baby Tooth. "And this young lady apparently as she stares at you with defiant expression."

"Oh!" She gasped and her feathers ruffled. "And who might you...?" Before she finished the question her eyes widened considerably and her gaze darted back and forth between me and Baby Tooth.

"It's me Mama. Don't ya recognize me? Oh...I think I'm fourteen years old right now. Manny decided to speed up my aging. Now, everyone can understand me too."

"Y-You're...you're my sweet Baby Tooth?"

"Yup! And I got a longer name!"

"Did you now?" She smiled at me. "What's your name now?"

"My name is Sarah Baby-Tooth Pitchiner."

"P-Pitchiner?"

"Hello, Tooth Fairy..." Father said with a guilty expression.

"You...you really aren't the same person we fought...are you?"

"No, he isn't. Let me explain..." I told her everything from when we left all the way until we arrived with him behind us. "...and then you tried to attack him."

"Oh my goodness! You're telling the truth."

"Of course I am." I told her with a wide smile. "So...Tooth..."

"You can call me Toothiana, Jack."

"R-Right...well, Toothiana...these are my parents. Wendy and Kozmotis Pitchiner."

She nodded her head with an understanding gaze as she stopped flying and walked up to him after we moved out of the way. "I'm sorry that happened to you. It must've been a very difficult time...I could never nor do I ever want to imagine. However, I can see the trust that the others are placing in you...so, if they're really willing to trust you, then I will too."

"Thank you." He sighed out in relief.

"You're welcome...now..." She turned her gaze back to Baby Tooth and smiled brightly. "Oh my goodness, you're so beautiful! My sweet little one."

"You're beautiful too, Mama."

"Awe..." She squealed out as she clasped her hands together and rested her head on them. "So..." She straightened up and looked at all of us. "...about 'The Silver Age'?"


End file.
